Part 1
My Conversion Story... to vegetarianism

I understand that all vegetarians have a conversion story - but all are unique and I thought, you'd might enjoy reading mine.

Here's my Reader's Digest version:

How thrilled I was to hear these words - "You're Hired!" At 15 1/2 years of age I ventured into the commercial world of small business to locate my 1st part-time job. After visiting several shops, I was hired on the spot at a local Fish 'n' Chips shop in Southern California.

Leftovers at the end of the night was a bonus. Bringing home a bag of battered cod & French fries (chips) was more typical than unusual. And how I loved dousing the food with English malt vinegar!

Never really acquiring the necessary skill to slicing the cod in the particular required wedge shape, I earned my wages from cutting & frying the potatoes & serving our customers. I worked this job for about two years - until graduation from high school at the age of 17 1/2. During this two-year period, I saved about half of the money I had earned.

In both middle school & high school my favorite activities were to listen to local rock bands - we had our share of talent. So choosing to take a 3-week holiday in Great Britain was fitting. This was my 2nd get-away from family, & I began this adventure with one of my best friends.

This was definitely an adventure for us: from arriving the first night in London with a bad case of jet lag, to figuring out how to use those red-box telephones, to having to adjust our hearing in order to understand the local vernacular were only the tip-of-the-iceberg.  We visited the hillsides of England, met, had tea with & went rowing with members of the Incredible String Band on their loch in Scotland, stayed at a hostel in Ireland, which was a castle & much, much more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOyiDIUhbAE
"Painting Box" by the Incredible String Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W3STP9M_YI
"Jigs" played by the Incredible String Band

Almost every night on the way to a music club, Shari & I would find a small fish & chip's shop, usually located right next to a tube (underground subway) station - they were plentiful. We were satisfied.

During the day I would usually grab a small bagful of trail mix, which was conveniently offered right at the tube stations. They had huge wooden barrels of individual raw or roasted nuts, Brazil, cashews & almonds, & other barrels were filled with  mixtures of raisins, currents, dates, figs & nuts.

We ventured to Petticoat Lane & Portobello Road every week. Those streets were filled with music, entertainment & Jamaican whole-food bakeries.  The bakeries offered the most delicious dishes of sweet potatoes & special bean wraps. The owner & staff were lively & friendly - I enjoyed the atmosphere there. Also, I ventured to health-food stores. I noticed very healthy - attractive young folks who worked there. They had a special glow about them.

For one of our last nights in London, Shari & I decided we wanted to go out & have a meat meal. We ventured into a restaurant that offered steak.  We both took one bite & oh my gosh - what was this??? Truly this wasn't meat. We never asked, but left our uneaten meal & the restaurant early that night.

When I returned back to the mainland, more specific, to my parent's house, I realized that I didn't have to eat like my parents any longer. I began to visit health-food stores, read natural food books and tried new foods. I began eating granola with organic milk, fresh fruit & cottage cheese, bean burritos, and meatless tacos. I was changing. My parents did not mind, they seemed to understand me.

After almost 2 years of college, I decided that I wasn't quite ready for college life at this California State College - life was too strange. Folks were smoking weed on the quad & my French professor, who wore an 8-inch handlebar mustache was having an affair with this sweet-young-thing in the classroom. I decided it was time again to take flight.

My boyfriend Steve ran Cheap Tickets for college students to Europe, so I bought myself a ticket on Friday & was off to Amsterdam the following Monday morning.

Since these are supposed to be my vegetarian memoirs, I'll try to stick to the subject & have to share my other adventures at another time.  So, to make a long story shorter, more meals of trail mix, fish & chips, more visits to health-food stores & shops, more affiliations with vegetarians & back-pack travelers, which I was one.

During my 2nd trip to Europe, I worked in London at Covent Garden Market, where flowers are received & shipped all over the world. Many a lunch was a fried egg sandwich from a local diner.  

Life on the island of Crete was easy living, especially while camping on the beach. I learned to create a simple breakfast by cooking oatmeal over a Sterno.  For variety, I would add raisins, peanuts &/or sometimes apple. Cleaning the pot was always fun as wet sand was my scrubber & I'd rinse it clean in the water gauging the coming & goings of each wave. 

I would enjoy the freshly baked loaves from the Greek bakeries. In the marketplace, you were offered freshly-squeezed orange juice & hummus wraps; at restaurants, you were offered Mediterranean dishes of rice & vegetables rolled in grape leaves.

Living near the ocean with the temps sometimes exceeding 100 degrees, your life & diet became simplified.

Vai on Crete - my favorite hang-out.
When I was there in 1972 & '73, it was pretty much deserted, so please imagine an empty beach.
I learned decades later that Paul, Jesus' disciple used this port on his missionary travels.
Picture taken by: Naamsvermelding vereist   

Eventually, I returned to the states to earn more money to fund my 3rd trip. A year later, I traveled again to London & Crete, but also to Switzerland, Germany, thru Yugoslavia, Turkey & Bulgaria to reach the Promised Land. There I lived on a Kibbutz - my job was to trim grapefruit trees.

Generally speaking as a backpacker & one who visited many youth hostels, we feasted on simple foods, usually raw foods, plus of course, bread & local cheese was a staple. Eating simply translated financially into longer stays in Europe.

I do remember one young German couple, also travelers. The young woman had a natural beauty - I watched her eat yogurt & an apple for breakfast. At night she would prepare a meal of rice & beans for herself & her mate.

Another traveler taught me the most delicious & simple stir-fry: saute shredded zuchinni & onions in butter - topped with Parmesan cheese - delicious.     

Youth Hostel on Crete
When I stayed here, the hostel was only one building.

On the last night of this trip, I was in Germany (as I was flying out the next day from the Frankfurt Airport)), my friend took me to his favorite knockwurst restaurant. By the time I arrived back to his place, I was hurling my dinner back to Mother Earth. I vaguely remember reading a novel, which vividly described food preparation for non-vegetarians. My visuals were strong & intense, & I could not keep my dinner down no matter how hard I tried.

The next day I was coming down an escalator in the Frankfort Airport. I looked at my ticket & it read November 14th. Hmmm I thought, this date seems familiar & then the light went on - it was my birthday!!! I was turning 21 years old. I thought to myself - I should make this day momentous & declared - "On this day forward, I pledge to be a vegetarian." That was approximately 38 years ago.   

***More to come...