The Ring + Garlic

Excerpt from The Ring

When I was 19-years old, living in Bellingham, Washington and attending Fairhaven College, I met a street vender who sold jewelry and this one particular turquoise ring kept drawing me back to his cart, day after day. I finally came up with the $20 to buy it and felt so thrilled to have it on my finger! It did not remain there very well, however, as it was a little too big, and, over the years, I would lose it periodically—only to find it again in the strangest of places. Usually I could not remember where or when I lost it, as though it had just vanished unawares. When I would notice that it was no longer on my finger, I would wonder, “Was it gone yesterday as well…when did it take missing?”

And from my love letter to garlic:

Dear Garlic,

Ooh Wee, ain’t no mistaking your presence in the room! Thank you for not holding back, for not being timid to express yourself fully. Distinctly and uniquely you, dear garlic, your powers cross our illusionary boundaries.

I love your contrariness- how you sprout in cold instead of warmth; how you go just as well in an African dish as an Italian one; how your smell when being sautéed in olive oil attracts hordes but on our breath repels everyone. 

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