Tag: Charleston WV

The Effect of a Good Church

D. Michl Lowe1 Comment

This past Saturday, my family and I went down to the local IHOP for some breakfast. This is a relatively normal thing for us to do on the weekend. As we walked into the restaurant, my youngest daughter tripped and fell to her knees. An older gentleman reached down to help her up. He smiled and asked her if she was okay. She said yes, I thanked him, and we walked on to our table.

As we sat down to order and later eat breakfast, it became apparent that this older man was sitting alone. He was seated in the middle of our section, and nearly every table around him got a smile and brief conversation. Before long, it was our turn. He asked about the kids and commented on the current state of politics and some other things.

“My kids won’t have anything to do with me,” he commented. “I had open heart surgery and they didn’t even come to visit. No phone call to check on me, nothing.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“They did come to talk to me once though,” he continued. “To ask me about their inheritance. I ain’t given them nothin!”

He laughed at that and, soon after, smiled and said goodbye. As he walked out, I thought about this man. He was so lonely that he obviously came to the local IHOP so he could talk to random folks. It was clear that this was why he was there; he didn’t order any food, just a coffee.

This might sound odd, but it made me think of my church. This coming year, my wife and I will have been at our church for 20 years now. It is the longest I have spent at a single church in my entire life. Nearly half of my life has been spent around my church family. Sunday after Sunday, we come to this house of worship to spend time with these people and the God we serve.

Sometimes, I am grim in my thoughts about the future, but this time, I was uplifted. God forbid I would end up alone like the man at the IHOP, but if I am, I would not need to go down to my local eatery just to get a human connection. I know that for a certainty. The family of God would be attending to me. I have seen it over and over in our church. Tragedy strikes, or there is a need and the people of God respond.

I wouldn’t need to attend IHOP; I could just attend church. It’s like God understood the need for fellowship in humans. Go figure.

D. Michl Lowe

Roller Skating and Maturity

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-The beautiful skates my wife rented-

So my wife and I recently took the kids to a roller skating rink. First off, these still exist. Secondly. The one we went to could have been mistaken for a crack den. Or at least what I assume a crack den looks like. I nearly passed it for not realizing it was the place. It was built inside what I assume is a condemned school gymnasium from 1973. You might think I am kidding. I am not. See photo below. My middle daughter brought a friend and I apologized that she would need to get a tetanus shot after coming with us to this place.

-Literally an old grade school gym-
-The entryway was only slightly flooded-
-We weren’t allowed to go up stairs apparently-
-The skate floor (old basketball court) was nice-

Anyway, this got me thinking about how much things change. When I was a kid, going to the roller skating rink was a highlight of school trips. Thinking back on it now though, sure there was the fun going going fast, but the thrill of the place was finding a girl to hold hands with during the “couples skate” time. Also, the lead up to that time, there would be a whisper campaign of friends going to ask other friends if they wanted to be your couple skate partner.

As a child, that thrill of holding hands and the build up of who it was going to be was what made that time special. We were too young for real boyfriends or girlfriends, but playing the part was exciting. I walked out on the rink today and realized the thrill of childhood newness was gone. My wife skated by me and I realized I already had my partner to hold hands with. There was no mystery or thrill in wondering who, but that was okay.

That thrill has been replaced with the maturity of a deep and meaningful relationship. One that has led to my children being born and getting to see them experience things in somewhat the same way I did as a child. There was no couple skate today, but my girls come home from middle school talking about their friends who are “dating”. Alicia and I don’t allow boyfriends until they are 16 years old. Which might sound old fashioned, but we find allowing them to focus on childhood has worked out well so far.

I have often said that my current life is my favorite time of my life. I am 40 years old this year. That being said, I said that at 35 and also at 30. At 25 and at 20. I also said it at 15, and while I might not directly remember, I’m sure I said it at 10 and 5 as well. My point is, while I appreciate my past, I am happy with my life now and am looking forward to the future.

D. Michl Lowe

River’s Edge Cabbage Soup Recipe

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I considered writing an article about this recipe first so that you all would have to scroll through it to get to the recipe, but I hate it when websites do that, so here is the recipe at the beginning. You’re welcome!

Cabbage Soup Recipe

Yields around 6 quarts. However, I often double this recipe and freeze what my family can’t eat in one sitting.

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium-sized cabbage chopped into 1-inch squares, (or enough to fill the bottom of the pot several inches up with chopped cabbage).
  • 5-6 stalks of celery (enough to cover the top of the cabbage).
  • 1 (28-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes.
  • 8 ounces of tomato juice or V8.
  • 1.5 tablespoons salt.
  • 1 teaspoon of black pepper or white pepper, if you want a cleaner look.
  • 1/2 a teaspoon of crushed red pepper.

Directions:

  • 1. Take your cabbage and cut it into 1-inch squares. Place this in a large steep-sided pot, enough to hold all the ingredients.
  • 2. Put the chopped celery into the pot on top of the cabbage. I usually just do a rough chop to the size I want.
  • 3. Fill the stock pot up with water to cover the cabage and celery a good 5 inches.
  • 4. Place the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat just enough to keep it at a steady simmer and cook until the cabbage and celery are tender but still firm; around 35 minutes.
  • 5. Then add the remaining ingredients (crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper) and cook an additional 5 minutes to allow the ingredients to get to know one another.

Notes: You may want to adjust the salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to suit your taste. I personally like to add some chopped Polish Style Smoked Kiolbassa Sausage, the pre-cooked kind. I know it’s not traditional to the Rivers Edge Restaurant, but I really like it with this addition, your mileage may vary. Anyway, enjoy the soup!

The River’s Edge Restaurant was originally a restaurant located in Saint Albans West Verginia. It was closed around 2010, unfortunately.

D. Michl Lowe

Addendum: I did not come up with this recipe myself, I found it years ago on the web at Delishably.com and have rewritten and reworked it over the years into the format you see here. To be completely fair, this is as close as I have been able to get to the original recipe that I remember it as a kid. It’s the closest to the original taste and trust me I have tried a lot of other versions. Howie, the original website author writes a very good article that goes into a lot of details about the town of Saint Albans, the restuarant, and the recipe, so check out his article below.

https://delishably.com/soup/Cabbage-Soup-RiversEdgeStyle#gid=ci026c5f58300727c9&pid=cabbage-soup-riversedgestyle-MTc0NjE5MzE3NjU5NTc2MjY1