The Wandering Foodie

The old kitchen was showing its age. The sink leaked and the faucet sometimes spluttered. The paint on the ancient cabinets was peeling and the interior paper had lived long past its expiration date. The carpet on the floor – something that should have been replaced years ago – bore stains and frays from edge to edge.

But it was the table that held the special place. The old table, now in its second or third decade (we had stopped keeping track) held piles of mail, miscellaneous papers, food and anything else that someone threw on it.

On this night, Mom and I sat at the table listening to the radio, which was tuned, as it often was, to NPR. But this was no ordinary evening. It was November 4, 2008. We sat listening to the live reports of the presidential election results, the numbers streaming in from across the nation as the polls closed and the votes were counted.

I’ll never forget the moment that I heard the voice of NPR’s veteran broadcaster, Robert Siegal, when he said: “We can now project that Barack Obama has become the first African-American to win the White House.”

For a long moment, Mama and I sat there not saying a word. To know my mom was to know her love of words and talking. She could go on and on and on and on for hours. But, in that moment, that historic hour, we were both speechless. It was as if we needed to pinch ourselves. We couldn’t believe it. This was something that Mama doubtless thought she wouldn’t see in her lifetime. Indeed, I figured it might not happen till I was old. But it had happened, here and now, in this time, it had HAPPENED.

I have many good memories of my mother. But this one will always be one of my favorites. That moment we sat together in the kitchen, listening in shocked and joyful silence, hearing that one of our own had ascended to the highest office in the land.

Our family has long had a fascination, participation and appreciation for politics and government. We regularly follow the news, vote with informed minds and support the best candidates available. We owe this, in no small way, to Mama. It was she that regularly followed the news and discussed issues with us even as kids. It was she that took me along as a young boy when she went to the polling place to vote and I followed suit as soon as I was old enough. It is this importance, this understanding of our crucial role in government and society that we carry with us to this day.

It’s been eight years since our mother passed, yet I see the example and spirit that she left us living on proudly and strongly.

I will always remember November 8, 2008, not so much for the historic election of President Obama, but for the fact that Mom and I shared that moment together.