The Chewing Sound of Silence
When all of the cooking is done and
I am sitting down the to the meal I have sweated and labored over, I listen for the sound of chewing silence
from my family and guests. A focused concentration fills the air, and it is so
quiet as people savor the taste of my art that you can hear them chew. Those
masticating teeth fill my ears with a sweet, spiritual music and I love it. I
live for that moment; it is all I think about when I am chopping, measuring,
weighing and standing on aching feet for hours at a time. Like a junkie looking
for high, I strive for that moment and it is then when I feel closest to my
family, to my friends and to my community. For that segment of time I
understand what it means to be an animal on this earth.