Movin' on up

"Fasten your seatbelt. It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Bette Davis couldn't have described my recently transient lifestyle better than with her oft-quoted line from the movie "All About Eve." Once more I find my life on the move. Having just moved from Denver to Connecticut to Richmond, Virginia, several months ago and ensconced myself in a charming rental property in a funky, turn-of-the century, urban neighborhood called The Fan, I finally unpacked the boxes I've schlepped from the Wild West to the Old South. But instead of settling in, I'm once again on the move.

Of late, my life may appear to be a bumpy ride, but I see smooth sailing ahead. I've just purchased a beautiful, century-old Victorian house several blocks from my current home, and soon I'll be packing--and unpacking--the same boxes I just emptied. By the time I'm truly settled, however, I can once again sort out my cookbooks and kitchen utensils and take up entertaining where I left off.

And my new digs are perfect for entertaining. Having lived in high-rise apartments and condominiums all my life, I'm thrilled to have a back yard where I can plant my first-ever garden. I'll probably take my cue from fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson, America's first organic gardener, whose own horticultural exploits you can read about in "From Monticello's Garden," p. 36. Our third president grew fruits and vegetables at his estate, but he also grew at least 16 herbs, which made up what he described as his "garden pharmacy." Plants serve humankind in many ways, Jefferson wrote. One of them is by providing "medicaments for our bodies." One of these medicaments was capsicum, better known as cayenne pepper, which Jefferson used to treat his joint pain--though you can read about more modern approaches in "Flex Time," p. 25.

For starters, I'll plant a mint patch, as no self-respecting Southerner-even the upstart kind--makes mint juleps with the store-bought herb. I'll also plant tomatoes, which Jefferson introduced to American palates. I've loved "love apples" since I was a child. When I was growing up in Ottumwa, Iowa--yes, Radar O'Reilly of "M*A*S*H" and I really are from Ottumwa--my best friend was one of 13 children whose parents, to save on grocery bills, grew their own food. This was a good thing, as the family could devour five loaves of bread at breakfast time alone! They grew wonderful raspberries in their garden. But it was their tomato patch I loved best. Its fruit was so spectacular that I'd pick it right off the vine and eat it like an apple.

I ate tomatoes like that for years--until that one unforgettable day I looked down at my just-munched fruit to discover that I had just bitten off a green worm. Perhaps that's what inspired me to become a vegetarian after all!

Laurel Lund
Editorial Director

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