A Perfect Fall Day and a Pilgrimage to Real Chili

It is a rare but unique quality to experience, food and literature that a single moment can become part of who we are, change us down to our core, and expose revelations that render us forever different.

Nearly 11 months ago as I sat at the precipice of the unknown in a small 6th floor room of UW Hospital I had beside me a compilation of assorted poems at my side. Of a lengthy volume, one changed me forever, and rarely a day has gone by without my thinking on it. So, without further adieu, Tom Hennen's "The Life of a Day:"

"Like people or dogs, each day is unique and has its own personality quirks which can easily be seen if you look closely. But there are so few days as compared to people, not to mention dogs, that it would be surprising if a day were not a hundred times more interesting than most people.

"But usually they just pass, mostly unnoticed, unless they are wildly nice, like autumn ones full of red maple trees and hazy sunlight, or if they are grimly awful ones in a winter blizzard that kills the lost traveler and bunches of cattle.

"For some reason we like to see days pass, even though most of us claim we don't want to reach our last one for a long time. We examine each day before us with barely a glance and say, no, this isn't one I've been looking for, and wait in a bored sort of way for the next when we are convinced, our lives will start for real.

"Meanwhile, this day is going by perfectly well-adjusted, as some days are, with the right amounts of sunlight and shade, and a light breeze scented with a perfume made from the mixture of fallen apples, corn stubble, dry oak leaves, and the faint odor of last night's meandering skunk."

Now, I bring this up nearly 11 months after having first read it because today was one of those perfectly well-apportioned autumn days.

It started simply enough as many of my days do, getting up, showering and heading to the clinic for counts (everything looks all right, but is starting to fall and the platelets are causing a bit of bleeding -- no worries, all to be expected at this point).

After getting counts and getting some work done at the clinic, we escaped unbelievably early (still in the early hours of the afternoon,) so I decided that Mum and I should seize the day and take advantage of the time, the beautiful fall weather, and my rapidly decreasing immunity by taking an afternoon field trip to Milwaukee to get a walk on the city streets and have a bowl of the miraculously restorative and curative "Real Chili" which has existed in Downtown Milwaukee since 1931.

As my eyes have finally overcome the lingering effects of steroids and were able to focus on the clear fall landscape, I was overjoyed as I looked over the golden hues of dried crop fields, red maples, and bright sunshine. Simply put, today creation could not have been outdone on the roads between Madison and Milwaukee. It was a statement that words cannot summarize.

As we came into Milwaukee I saw some of my favorite sites -- The beautiful Ball Park were I've enjoyed so many brewers games with friends and family both as a child and in more recent memory at the new and beautiful Miller Park.

Then downtown Milwaukee where we'd visit once a Winter and walk the streets of the "Big City," and stay in nice hotels. We'd inevitably walk out on the cold streets and warm our stomachs and souls with a heaping bowl of Real Chili -- My Dad's favorite college eatery at Marquette, my favorite when it was in Madison, and a staple anytime we were in the area.

A single taste of The Marquette Special (Chili Beef served over beans and rice with Cheese and oyster crackers) brings me back to my best days and nights in college, to the trip my Dad took to Milwaukee to watch the U.S. Open tennis tournament, to fun and festive winter family weekends, and to some of the best memories my mind holds of time spent with close friends and family.

As Mum and I parked Downtown and headed to the chili bar, my appetite grew, the air was crisp and refreshing, and the warm sun on the back of the neck revived the soul.

And the bowl of real chili was everything I expected it to be and more. Food really can be that powerful.

Afterword, we drove to the Milwaukee Public Market and walked the historic third ward where we got scrumptious cookies and chai tea to enjoy en route home toward Madison.

Overall, a truly well-proportioned day. One simply cannot ask for more in life.

Today I know that a rough couple of months lie ahead, but I am left so appreciative of each beautiful day, of creation, and of the quality time I am able to spend with my friends, families, and close ones. Thank you all for being such a monumental support to me in my life, and for continuing to follow my writings and my journey.

Sam