Lavender & Coffee Stains

Nice Reflection About Life

Critically acclaimed author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has retired from public life due to health reasons: cancer of the lymph nodes. He has sent a farewell letter to his friends, and thanks to the Internet it is spreading. I recommend that you read it. This short text, written by one of the most brilliant Latin Americans in recent times, is truly moving.

A GENIUS BIDS FAREWELL

If for an instant God were to forget that I am a rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn't say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say.

I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light.

I would walk when others hold back, I would wake when others sleep. I would listen when others talk, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream! If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress simply, throw myself face first in the sun, baring not only my body but also my soul.

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice, and wait for the sun to show. Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh, dream a Benedetti poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I'd offer to the moon.

With my tears I would water roses, to feel the pain of their thorns, and the red kiss of their petals!

My God, if I had a piece of life, I wouldn't let a single day pass without telling people I love that I love them.

I would convince each woman and each man that they are my favorites, and I would live in love with love. I would show men how very wrong they are to think that they cease to be in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow old when they cease to be in love!

To a child I shall give wings, but I shall let him learn to fly on his own.

I would teach the old that death does not come with old age, but with forgetting. So much have I learned from you, oh men!

I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain, without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled.

I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time with his tiny fist his father's finger, he has him trapped forever.

I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he has to help the other get to his feet.

From you I have learned so many things, but in truth they won't be of much use, for when I keep them within this suitcase, unhappily shall I be dying.

GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

Promo: Gifts with Taste

Planning to go on an early Christmas shopping spree? No need for this when you can share your own food gift recipes at the Gifts with Taste recipe contest of My Great Food Club and get a chance to win P15,000-worth of San Miguel Pure Foods products.

Gifts with Taste is open to everyone who is willing to share their treasured and tested food gift recipes ideal for the Christmas season. Simply send in your best holiday food gift recipe using at least two (2) San Miguel Pure Foods products in reasonable amounts.

Recipes submitted must be typed in a letter-size bond paper indicating the exact ingredients and step-by-step procedure. On a separate sheet, please include your name, address, contact number and a short anecdote associated with the recipe. Also, include an original 3R-sized photograph of you and the dish.

San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center Chefs will review and test the recipes based on the following criteria: a. Uniqueness 30% b. Creativity 30% and c. Taste 40% for a total of 100%. The winning entry will be posted on December 10, 2007 and will be announced in leading newspapers and magazines. The winner will be advised via registered mail and is responsible for picking up the prizes at the SMPFCC office. Unclaimed prizes 60 days after draw date will be forfeited. All submissions become the property of SMPFCC. The Chefs reserve the right to adjust all recipes as needed.

The Recipe contest is in partnership with Monterey, Magnolia Chicken Station, Purefoods Fiesta Ham, Magnolia Queso de Bola, Magnolia Gold Butter, Purefoods Supremo Cane Vinegar, San Mig Coffee, Magnolia Pancake Plus, E-aji and Magnolia Nutri-oil and sponsored by GLAD Wraps and Bags, Ariston and G. E. Appliances.

Hurry! Send in your entries via snail mail at San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center (SMPFCC), Legaspi cor. Eagle Sts., Bo. Ugong, Pasig City or email to culinaryproj@smg.sanmiguel.com.ph. Deadline of Entries is on November 29, 2007, 6:00PM. For inquiries, please call 671-9876 loc 2771 and look for Christine. Have a Merry Christmas!

DOH-BFAD Permit No. 1278 s.2007