LETTER from R. SCOTT DUNCAN

Let’s Try A Little Tenderness

To the Editor:

Kindness is very powerful.

Many years ago I had surgery. The hospital kept me till the end of the day and then pushed me out the door and into a cab. They stuffed a prescription for pain killers in my hand.

I don’t remember filling the prescription, but I do remember the brutal pain of climbing up two flights of stairs to my apartment. Then collapsing into bed.

After a while, things simmered down and I got up and took the pain killers.

Many hundreds of years ago in Baghdad when you went into the hospital they would take your clothes and you would get a linen gown to wear. The beds had linen sheets!

When you were ready to leave they would give you your clothes back, all clean and fresh. They would also give you some money so you did not have to go back to work for the first week. That would give you some more time to heal.

Recently I was in the hospital for four days. A little while after I got home friends stopped by on two different occasions. They each brought me some food. It was a great thing to do for me. It made me feel connected. It’s nice to taste food that is made by different people.

I remember church suppers in the basement of the church. They were once a month. People would bring different dishes to pass.

Tomorrow, I am making a calamari and tomatoes stew. Pam is making fresh loaf of bread. Bread to dip into the stew to soak up the juices and to excite the taste buds.

We are going to take it to a special friend who has just gotten out of the hospital. I hope it helps her to recover faster. Plus, she won’t have to think about dinner for her family that night. Rest and relax.

Isn’t that why we are here: To help each other in times of need? It certainly helped me that time. I had forgotten how powerful the kindness of sharing food can be.

R. SCOTT DUNCAN
Hartwick Forrest