Vanilla, Chocolate and Grandpa Bill

When I was in 5th grade, I went to an all girls school in the South Shore area of Chicago. For fifty cents I would take the #15 Jeffrey Local CTA bus to school.  

Sometimes, My Grandpa Bill, who at the time was the Chief Pharmacist at Jackson Park Hospital, would drive me to school before heading down 71st street to Stony Island and the Hospital.

He was a terribly bad driver, having been in a serious car crash which impaired his vision. So while enjoying the visit, I feared the drive. 

We would drive through Jackson Park past the Golden Lady.  I always felt that he did this on purpose.  It was really a lovely way to get to school.

I would relish his telling me about big life lessons while we roamed Jackson Park, on those drives. He would say “Ellen dear, remember, there are those who like chocolate and those who like vanilla”. Boy, would he be confused today on so many issues!  

However, I believe this lesson is really about learning to respect people I would encounter, who might have very different points of view from my own, even if that preference is as basic as the  taste of chocolate or vanilla.

It was also a lesson about having choices, always. Or at least I choose to think that.

That’s why my pound cake is offered in vanilla and chocolate, as my first cake introduction. I am reminded to be accepting, open, allow for differences, embrace what you like and respect what others like too.

Which flavor is your favorite?