attained

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?  We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.  We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.  - Marie Curie

In 1890 a family of eight moved to Asheville.  They were looking for a fresh start, for opportunity and a break from poverty and struggle.  Dad found a job right away as a craftsman on the Biltmore House.  The older four children were enrolled in school and that's where the meager income stopped.  There was not enough money to buy books and shoes for the two youngest - Six year old twin boys named Jude and John.  

But where there is a will, there is a way.  And soon a plan was hatched.  Dad got little Jude a job as water boy at the Biltmore House construction site.   Jude rode to work with Dad and spent the next 9 hours filling buckets with water from the wells and carrying them to the hundreds of workers spread across the property.  The money Jude earned at work was enough to buy shoes for both Jude and John.  And books for school. 

So Mom enrolled little John at the school down the street.  That night John shared every detail of his day with Jude.  Where his desk was, what he had learned, what the teacher was like. And Jude shared every detail of his day with John.  He drew of map of where the wells were and told when the men expected water to arrive.   But here is the interesting part. The next day the two boys switched places.  Jude went to school under the name of John.  And John went to work under the name Jude.  That night they again shared the details of their day.  And the next day they switched back.

No one knew they were twins.  No one suspected that every other day the boys would switch places so they could both get an education and both help earn money.

Jude's 92 year old daughter told me this story, in her living room in Asheville, the week before she passed away.  She spoke with pride about her father's hard work to get an education, even though the diploma he helped earn had John's name on it.  John went on to high school and then moved away for college.  Jude got promoted during the five years it took to finish the Biltmore house -from water boy to garden worker, then later to maintenance assistant.  He eventually became the grounds foreman and spent his life and career working at the house he loved and had helped to build.

carrot cake

My husband loves carrot cake.  We had a delicious carrot cake for our wedding.  I've made and bought numerous carrot cakes and they were all good.  But then my mom discovered and made Southern Living's Best Carrot Cake Ever.  And it was.  It is a moist cake loaded with pineapple, coconut, nuts and of course, carrots.  Then a buttermilk glaze.  Then a homemade cream cheese frosting.  Oh my. But the list of ingredients and multiple steps daunted me and the recipe got filed.

Until this July 8 - Steve's Birthday.  Somehow I felt all baker-y and tackled the (not so hard) cake.  I followed directions and decorated with a flourish.  And somehow I made the Best Carrot Cake EVER!  Steve almost cried with pure joy at each bite.  I was beside myself with pride at my tasty creation.

For the last couple months I have been visiting James, a sweet 97 year old man.  He and his wife moved to Asheville twenty years ago and never found a church they clicked with.  On my first visit they upgraded me from hospice chaplain to their pastor and were happy to finally have one.  They told me all about the businesses they had run, their children and grandchildren, and places they had seen.  And I found out that James loved carrot cake.

So as I was mixing up Steve's cake, I was scheming to take a big piece to James.  Steve was gracious enough to sacrifice a portion of his precious cake to share.  I slid a chunk of that gooey cake into a container, popped it in an ice chest and put James on my visit schedule for the next day.

When I got to the nursing home I couldn't believe how much James had declined.  He opened his eyes and smiled when I showed him the cake.  His wife promised to make sure he got it when he was more awake.  Over the next few days James couldn't eat anything.  Except carrot cake.  Nothing else sounded good to him.  The nurses gave him bites of cake with his medicine.  His wife fed him bites for breakfast and for dinner.  James passed away on Friday night.  His wife ate the last two bites of cake in his honor.  She made me cry when she told me how my cake eased him out of this world.

So here's to the Best Carrot Cake Ever.  And the two men who enjoyed it so much...