#SOL16. No.30.

“When once you have tasted flight,
you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward,
for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
Leonardo da Vinci

Da Vinci’s words seemed to leap from the page of one of those travel magazines found in the back of the airplane seat that jams against my knees. I looked at the expanse of snow-capped Rocky Mountains beneath me, and mused,

When once you have tasted . . .

When once you have tasted . . .

When once you have tasted . . .

I remember my first sweet, rich mango lassi on a hot afternoon in Mae Sot, Thailand. It was made with a tree-ripened mango, cream, yogurt, and oh, so icy cold. Nothing can compare to the flavor and sweet coldness of that mango lassi!

And then, there were the tree-ripened limes that we picked ourselves in a Thai jungle village. I squeezed them over a mixture of canned tuna and a shriveled apple I had chopped, and rolled it all up in a Chinese cabbage leaf. Ahh, I’ve not been able to find such limes in our produce department.

Last summer, my friend Hannah gave me a beefsteak tomato from her garden, one that she had cared for, that had truly ripened on the vine. One slice of it covered a piece of bread. Such succulence, such sweetness! It would be a disgrace for me to suggest that a store-bought, vine-ripened tomato might be compared to her garden-picked one.

And then there’s the exceptionally wonderful pie crust that I am noted for. Just take a sliver, just a taste. You’ll be back quickly as the crust melts in your mouth. Nothing equals my made-from-scratch-with-butter crust. Oh, so flaky and rich! Never again can I reach for the alternative — a time-saving, cardboard-like, store-bought freezer crust.

The Psalmist wrote, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.” I have tasted; and the Lord He is good! And my heart sings the words to Misty Edwards’s song

“My soul longs for you,
my soul longs for you.
Nothin’ else will do,
nothin’ else will do.

Ah, yes, when once you have tasted . . . nothing else will do!

“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.”
Psalm 34:8-9

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A special thanks to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, Beth, Kathleen, and Deb for a place at Two Writing Teachers where teachers and others can share their stories each Tuesday throughout the year and every day during the month of March.