My taste buds are all askew thanks to what I think may now, after four days, be a sinus infection. Typically, such a condition causes everything to taste badly. But when I popped a piece of Orbit Sweetmint gum into my mouth this afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to find the happy taste of baseball card bubble gum in my mouth!

While feeling so lousy with this cold, it was a momentary relief to be transported back to childhood by that good taste. What boy growing up in the 1970s did not want baseball cards every time he went into a store with his mom? The hope of finding one of his heroes in a pack was only one reason why he wanted mom to buy them. The gum was the other reason! It was irresistible! Even stale and broken in hard little pieces, it was fantastic! True, the flavor didn’t last more than a few minutes. But, boy, that taste is something you don’t forget.

Being that this happened while I was sitting at a stop light, I had only a few moments to revel in the good memories. The thought of how I lost my baseball card collection was also in my mind. But that’s not a happy story and I don’t feel up to telling it. I’d rather let the taste of happy memories linger a while.

While doing the dishes today, I found a lentil which had sprouted in the dish drainer.  Such will to live!  Such ignoring of the odds and the illogical circumstances in which to take a shot at life!  Who was I to deny assistance after this one lone lentil made such a valiant effort?

I planted it – in a pot in which I had two days previously planted a handful of lavender seeds.  Welcome to the neighborhood, lentil.  Let’s see what you’ve got!