The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw-----and I knew I saw-----all things in God and God in all things.
- Mechtild of Magdeburg
"Hey there, Princess," said Amanda Jane to the teen-aged cashier in the grocery checkout lane. The girl was wearing a frown that could depress the Dalai Lama.
"Hi," she mumbled.
"Ever had an artichoke?" asked Amanda Jane. "They're really nothing more than a way to get garlic butter into your mouth. But, ooooh, they're good."
"Never one had one," said the girl as her frown dissolved into a quizzical stare at this strange and friendly woman.
"Well, you oughta try it. They're great to share with a friend or even a boyfriend."
"My boyfriend and I just broke up," replied the girl, her frown coming back in for a landing.
"Oh dear," said Amanda Jane. "Well, too bad for him missing out on such a sweet face as you have."
"You really think so?" asked the girl, her eyes beginning to puddle.
"Absolutely," said Amanda Jane. "You have the face of princess and every princess deserves a good artichoke. With lots of garlic butter."
"Thanks," said the girl with the bud of smile about to blossom.
Amanda Jane picked up her bag of groceries and beamed at the young cashier. "You are a princess, darlin'. Don't you ever forget it. And, always eat your artichokes."
As Amanda Jane left the store, the next customer stepped up to the register and was greeted with a big toothy brace-filled teen-aged grin.
Howard and a bunch of rowdies gathered recently for a May-Day-Pan-Fertility-Hoop-De-Doo celebration with Jonathan Scales Steel Drum Band. They danced the night away in the front yard of Hanger Hall with the festooned statue of Pan looking on and offering blessings.