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The Dish That Defined a Life! · Family Tree Food Stories

• 0:00
  Nancy May: welcome to our first episode of Family Tree Food and Stories.
• 0:04
  Hello, I'm Nancy May, one of your co hosts to Family Tree Food and Stories.
• 0:09
  And welcome to our first episode of this podcast.
• 0:13
  Every good story always starts with an end in mind.
• 0:16
  And so does this one.
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  It's about my dad, Stuart May.
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  You see, dad was a true New Englander.
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  Although born in Brooklyn, his heart was in the green mountains of New Hampshire,
• 0:28
  where he went to school, But as the years went on, and frailty crept into his life,
• 0:34
  at 99 we were facing, really the hardest part of his life and ours, hospice.
• 0:44
  You see, Dad never wanted to give up, neither did we.
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  But what does this have to do with food and stories?
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  Well, let me tell you, as we managed those final days, my mom, my sister,
• 0:56
  myself and I, and our wonderful aides, I brought in a chaplain from hospice.
• 1:03
  I'm not terribly religious, but I thought I needed the help of
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  somebody who could give me a little bit more spiritual guidance at
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  this point in dad's life and mine.
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  as Pastor Scott and I got into conversation, he asked
• 1:16
  about dad in his life.
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  I explained who dad was, what joy he had brought to us, How hard he
• 1:22
  had worked to make sure my mom, my sister, and I all had roofs over
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  our heads and food on the table.
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  And he did a great job at that.
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  as I introduced dad to Pastor Scott, Dad listened quietly, with his eyes closed,
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  as Pastor Scott asked him a few questions.
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  one of the biggest questions he asked was, Stu, is there anything I can get you?
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  Dad closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and said, Clam chowder.
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  Really?
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  We had no idea.
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  and it kind of came to a shock to us.
• 2:00
  But not really.
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  Because Dad loved his clam chowder.
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  Both Manhattan and New England.
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  the conversation, or should I say the words from Pastor Scott quietly and with
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  respect And just before he left the room with dad and me at his side, he said,
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  once again, Stu, You've had a great life.
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  It's such a privilege to meet you and to be here with you at this time.
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  tears welling up in my eyes.
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  I didn't have any words to add myself.
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  And he asked one more time, Stuart, is there anything I can get you?
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  And Dad, with his eyes closed, pursed his lips and quietly said, I love you.
• 2:43
  Clam Chowder.
• 2:45
  So you see, food does play a part in our lives right to the very end.
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  and when we had Dad's celebration of life, what did we have?
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  Clam chowder, ice cream and scotch, because he requested those too.
• 2:59
  It's a privilege to be here as one of your hosts of Family Tree Food and Stories.
• 3:04
  I'm Nancy May, and my other co host is Sylvia Lovely.
• 3:09
  If you like the show, please share it with friends, family members, and anybody else
• 3:14
  who has a food story, a family story, and connects it together with love, joy, and
• 3:19
  excitement for future generations to come.
• 3:22
  We have a book that's coming out soon, too, Family Tree Food and Stories.
• 3:26
  We'll put a link in the show notes so that you can get information
• 3:29
  on that very quickly and be able to get one for yourself.
• 3:33
  on that note, please give us a great rating and continue to listen to
• 3:37
  more Family Tree Food and Stories.
• 3:40
  It's not about us.
• 3:41
  It's about you, your friends, your family, the food, and the stories and
• 3:45
  memories that you create together.
• 3:47
  take care, be well, and ciao!