Daily Prompt | Fat Wallet Refugee

Image by Lindsay Snow (Shutterstock).

I was born in the sagebrush dotted lands of eastern Washington in the town of Tonasket. My family, still navigating their way from the east coast, eventually brought their journey to an end on a jut of land extending out into the Puget Sound.

There, surrounded by water, sky, and mountains, I grew up. With each season an new adventure awaited.

My Hometown is Pretty

Spring hikes along flowering trails of the Olympic Mountains, Summer sailing trips up through the San Juan Isles and British Columbia, in Fall beachcombing and cookouts, with Winter finishing the year skiing the slopes of Mount Rainier.

It is a difficult choice, choosing between beach or mountain. Like being asked which you prefer, mother or father? To choose one is to spurn the other.

This filial son offers a third choice: the sea.

The sea, its supple waters lapping at the beach, embracing the feet of mountains.

For myself the sea is life, it is love, it is home.

It is both the beginning and end of my adventure.

Where journey ends and peace remains.

Ever after.

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I had access to a wide variety of foods. I think though that my families most frequent meals revolved around those dishes most closely associated with my ancestry.

I am a product of British and African-American parentage. Between, and as a part of, my broad world views and cultural upbringing, I have over time developed a discerning, yet liberal palette.

My love for food has reached even to the far east. I have taken every opportunity available to indulge in foreign foods from China, Japan, and Korea including Kimchi, Sukiyaki, and Mapo Tofu.

I am not alone either in these endeavors. Each year my mother brews the Korean rice drink Makgeolli and my father stores away many a container of homemade Kimchi.

Still, I cannot escape it. Curry with poppadom and fish with chips will always remain dear and true in my heart.

Attributions:

Curry (Nov 30, 2022 by Aneesha: SpiceCravings.com),

Fish and Chips (By Matthias Meckel – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74468548),

Fried Chicken (March 1, 2023 by Anonymous: Allrecipes.com).