Even If It Is Just Corn!

I have been revisiting a few pieces of my work that hang in our home. I have decided some of them need a refresh. Not that the first version was bad or poor. I am updating them as my skills and style have changed and I want to see these quotes as better reflections of my work. I am also tired of the old version, so I am electing to act on my Artist’s prerogative to change things around. This is a quote from Mark Twain that has meant a lot to me over the years. I wanted it to be more legible, more bold, and more engaging. The quote is blunt and true:

Travel is fail to prejudice,
bigotry and narrow-mindedness.

-Mark Twain 1910

If you have traveled in any way, shape or form – be it to another town, another state or to another side of the world – your view of things has changed. You have changed. You may not have noticed, yet you are not the same person you were before you went to this new place. You can no longer practice ignorant assumptions or pigeon hole people into categories or boxes. Your experiences and adventures have changed how you see the world and the people in it. At least that is what I HOPE has happened to you as you criss crossed this big, blue ball we all inhabit. Mark Twain was right, travel changes everything for the better.

I remember the first time I met someone from Germany. I was twelve. My Dad invited his colleagues from Germany who were visiting his office to our home for dinner. We lived in the Chicago area, and it was summer. My Mom served steaks and corn on the cob. The corn was picked that afternoon by a local farmer. It was delicious…and the Germans were outraged, insulted, and did not touch their food. When we all noticed, my parents asked them what was wrong. They said, “We only feed livestock corn, we do not eat it. Do you think we are livestock?” My parents apologized and explained where we live fresh corn is a delicacy and we wait for it all year. My Mom gently asked them to try it – with butter of course – and they loved it! Over the years my Father brought home lots of people from lots of places, and I learned a great deal just by sharing a meal with those “strangers”.

Let me encourage you in two things. First, never be afraid to change something that has been in your world for a while. We get better with age – wiser, more skilled, more creative. And where we live deserves a refresh now and then. Second, dare to travel and be open to finding out about where you are going. Try their food, visit their places, and dare to think that their lives might be rather similar to your own. Twain was right, travel is fatal to many terrible things. We just have to get out of our houses to find that out!

No matter what we think, or what the news tells us, we are all not that different. All parents love their children. All kids want to play outside without fear. Most people want to pet a kitten and eat ice cream. All of us what to live a good life, have friends and family, a safe place to live, and interesting things to do. And if we try it, different foods from different cultures can surprise and entice us in a fabulous way…even if it is just corn!