welcome to our first episode of Family Tree Food and Stories.

Hello, I'm Nancy May, one of your co hosts to Family Tree Food and Stories.

And welcome to our first episode of this podcast.

Every good story always starts with an end in mind.

And so does this one.

It's about my dad, Stuart May.

You see, dad was a true New Englander.

Although born in Brooklyn, his heart was in the green mountains of New Hampshire,

where he went to school, But as the years went on, and frailty crept into his life,

at 99 we were facing, really the hardest part of his life and ours, hospice.

You see, Dad never wanted to give up, neither did we.

But what does this have to do with food and stories?

Well, let me tell you, as we managed those final days, my mom, my sister,

myself and I, and our wonderful aides, I brought in a chaplain from hospice.

I'm not terribly religious, but I thought I needed the help of

somebody who could give me a little bit more spiritual guidance at

this point in dad's life and mine.

as Pastor Scott and I got into conversation, he asked

about dad in his life.

I explained who dad was, what joy he had brought to us, How hard he

had worked to make sure my mom, my sister, and I all had roofs over

our heads and food on the table.

And he did a great job at that.

as I introduced dad to Pastor Scott, Dad listened quietly, with his eyes closed,

as Pastor Scott asked him a few questions.

one of the biggest questions he asked was, Stu, is there anything I can get you?

Dad closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and said, Clam chowder.

Really?

We had no idea.

and it kind of came to a shock to us.

But not really.

Because Dad loved his clam chowder.

Both Manhattan and New England.

the conversation, or should I say the words from Pastor Scott quietly and with

respect And just before he left the room with dad and me at his side, he said,

once again, Stu, You've had a great life.

It's such a privilege to meet you and to be here with you at this time.

tears welling up in my eyes.

I didn't have any words to add myself.

And he asked one more time, Stuart, is there anything I can get you?

And Dad, with his eyes closed, pursed his lips and quietly said, I love you.

Clam Chowder.

So you see, food does play a part in our lives right to the very end.

and when we had Dad's celebration of life, what did we have?

Clam chowder, ice cream and scotch, because he requested those too.

It's a privilege to be here as one of your hosts of Family Tree Food and Stories.

I'm Nancy May, and my other co host is Sylvia Lovely.

If you like the show, please share it with friends, family members, and anybody else

who has a food story, a family story, and connects it together with love, joy, and

excitement for future generations to come.

We have a book that's coming out soon, too, Family Tree Food and Stories.

We'll put a link in the show notes so that you can get information

on that very quickly and be able to get one for yourself.

on that note, please give us a great rating and continue to listen to

more Family Tree Food and Stories.

It's not about us.

It's about you, your friends, your family, the food, and the stories and

memories that you create together.

take care, be well, and ciao!