Mini Musing - March

Monks, last meals, and banana pudding

Much of the delight I have discovered in the last week or two can be summed up in my new album, Hoosierman Volume I, but at the risk of boring ya’ll with talking so much about this record, here are a few other things:

Thomas Merton

If you don’t know who Thomas Merton is, I implore you to read some of his writings. Merton was Trappist monk in the 20th century and served at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky for most of his life. I have been fortunate to stay at the same monastery a few times and I always try to read some of his writing while I am there. I am currently going through a Lenten devotional that has compiled a lot of short and rich readings for each day in the season of Lent. I have gone through it for the last three years and it always hits me differently every year. Highly recommend!

Banana Pudding

Someone recently told me that Anna makes the best banana pudding they have ever had in their life and I have to say, they are absolutely correct though she would be quick to point out that she uses her daddy’s recipe. Anna made banana pudding cupcakes recently and while I didn’t get one, there was plenty of pudding left over and a couple of spoonfuls of that has been my dessert for the last week. My word that woman is a genius.

Last Meals

There is a wonderful web series on YouTube called, Last Meal (from the folks who produce Rhett & Link) and I have been enjoying watching it recently. I mentioned this in my last musing, Delight in Birth, Death, and Everything In-Between, but our priest suggested that we meditate on our death during Lent by planning our funerals. I have been thinking a lot about that and so a series focused on different “last meals” of famous people has been an interesting thought experiment. Some of the meals are lavish with French cuisines, fine wine, and ethnic delicacies and while I have eaten some amazing food throughout my travels, I don’t think I would choose the beef tartar I had in the south of France. I think would have to go with my Mamaw’s fried chicken, my other grandma’s baked beans, a bowl of peaches from my Papaw’s peach trees, and Anna’s banana pudding. How about you?