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--> --> Cantwell's was like a `jam' in progress By Patti Morey Ashland Far be it from my teenage son to willingly take a walk with his mom. But a quick walk together late at night to Cantwell's Market for Dr. Pepper and Doritos was OK. Something about those walks - the starry sky, the fresh cool air, our lighthearted objective, or perhaps the fact that he walked that same route with his friends by day - it changed our parent-child dynamic to a friendly camaraderie. Then, Chris would say things that surprised me. And, marveling at the astonishing maturity of his thought and wit, I'd suddenly remember my baby is almost grown. Cantwell's allowed our dog Lucky to lay on the carpet inside the front doors. He's a quiet, friendly, old dog, and was consequently petted by nearly everyone who came and went. The deli people slipped quality scraps to us for him. What a lucky dog. On our way home, a frightened cat was tamed in days with some of those scraps. A pup who used to bark at us began waiting quietly at his gate, tail wagging. Our own cats took to greeting us at the corner in anticipation. All those years of going to Cantwell's Market. It was left brain-right brain, enlightened and depraved with its bicameral Pop Tarts-Ayurvedic vision. Elva, the elderly lady I caretake, hails from a Budweiser and white sugar culture. These aspects were also reflected in the products at Cantwell's. We went shopping together daily after she started lapsing into long periods of sleep. Tom, Phil, Nori and everyone there greeted Elva by name. Her consciousness was subtly expanded by the presence of products outside her cultural experience. And when parents introduced their children to her, Elva found connection. A couple of years ago, Tom started letting me salvage unsellable fruit to make jam. Because the fruit was so ripe, it had to be used immediately. This fostered my creativity and the necessary development of jam combos such as "Ginger Pineapple Banana Mango Kiwi with Coconut Milk," and a killer raspberry-strawberry-fig-peach-pear-watermelon-lemon-orange-etc. concoction that I called "Maximus Supremas." Some jams had over twenty different fruits in them. Each huge batch was like an extemporaneous concert that somehow came together fantastically. The summer before Y2K I was making jam every day - like that guy in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" who kept sculpting mountains. Fruits, sugar and pectin were stirred round and round for what seemed forever until finally it boiled. I started studying Calculus while stirring it. I sensed that "the Jam" had taken on a symbolic significance and was a metaphor for something. But - whatever, I just had to keep making "the Jam." That hot foreboding summer, I found joy, satisfaction and personal affirmation in honoring not-quite-perfect fruits and monumentalizing their virtues. Literally tons of "Y2-ti Frutti" was given away all over town and as far away as Korea. Our Cantwell's experiences were as overflowing, diverse and vitally interdependent as the ingredients of "the Jam." All of us, with our virtues, imperfections and different aspects - Tom, employees, customers, me, Chris, Elva, Lucky, the cat and the dog, our own kitties - more and more it came together, harmonizing round and round. The ups, the downs, the suicide, even the store's closure. Maybe each living thing in its experiences is like a jam in progress. Maybe, the whole world is like one humongous batch of jam coming together as something so fantastic. Maybe this was the secret meaning of "the Jam." Just keep bringing it all together to make the best "Jam" you can. Because, too soon, the ingredients go or pass away. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing