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THE NOURISH LETTER
NOVEMBER 2023
OctoberKitchen.com | 860-533-0588 | 309 Green Rd., Manchester, CT 06042
Meet the Team Behind Your Meals
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WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO? The Latest: My Surgery, Family and Beard!
decided to grow out my facial hair, and it was just in time for No Shave November. At first, I wasn’t a fan of it, but Allison loved it and encouraged me to continue growing it. After a few months, my beard became long and bushy. I looked like I could be a member of ZZ Top. However, when many of you and those on my team couldn’t recognize me, and I looked like I was sleeping on the streets, I decided it was time for a trim. Since my shoulder wasn’t 100% yet, I booked an appointment at Cove’s Barber Shop. If you’re ever in need of a great haircut, I definitely recommend them. Sammi did an excellent job of making me look sharp and clean — I felt like a million bucks! I loved the look so much that I visit her every few weeks for a trim. Speaking of my surgery, it’s officially been a whole year since undergoing treatment. I’m happy to say that my shoulder is now 100%, and I’m feeling better than ever — I’m also rocking a short beard thanks to Sammi! At first, going through physical therapy and strengthening my muscles and joints was quite daunting. I’m glad I persevered and continued to push forward. It’s been such a rewarding experience. To celebrate the milestone, I decided to do another 75 Hard challenge! These physical and mental exercises I’ve shared with you over the past
Have you ever heard of No Shave November? It’s an annual campaign created to spread awareness of cancer by letting your hair — whether that’s hair on your head, face, legs or underarms — grow for 30 days. I’ve always loved the notion behind the event, but I’ve never participated in it — mostly because I don’t like growing facial hair and how it makes me look. But that all changed after I had shoulder surgery. Last October, I had to undergo surgery for an injury I obtained while weightlifting. While I’ve always experienced minor pain over the years, this incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back — or in this case, a tendon. During my recovery, I couldn’t move my right shoulder for a few months, meaning I couldn’t shave. Although I could use my left hand and arm, I’m not ambidextrous! So, I
IT’S OFFICIALLY BEEN A WHOLE YEAR SINCE UNDERGOING TREATMENT. I’M HAPPY TO SAY THAT MY SHOULDER IS NOW 100%, AND I’M FEELING BETTER THAN EVER.”
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IT’S TIME TO BRIDGE THE LITERACY GAP How Barbershop Books Is Revolutionizing Reading for Kids
communities in 24 states. Alvin decided to focus on barbershops because these places are like community centers where people gather and spend time with one another. When you enter one of these barbershops, there will be a bookshelf full of books children can choose from. To encourage them even more, instead of displaying the books with their spines showing, they are displayed with the covers showing. Artwork and names of books can encourage children to pick them up and read them when they’re in the barber’s chair or while waiting for a family member or friend to finish their haircut. But the bookshelf isn’t the only way barbershops encourage young children to read. Alvin has trained barbers to ask children if they like to read or what they think about one of the books in the shop. In addition to his organization, Alvin is creating a school curriculum to help students identify their own reading preferences. He named the program Reading So Lit. The program uses self-assessments and AI to generate reading content that students will find personally interesting, meaningful and engaging. Reading So Lit has already been a success in multiple trial runs at schools.
Did you know that 1 in 4 children in the U.S. grow up without learning how to read? If children knew how to read, they would only participate in the activity when they were in school — meaning that their improvements and reading levels are progressing slower. And kindergarten and first- grade teacher Alvin Irby wanted to change that. One day, Alvin traveled to the Bronx to a barbershop for a trim. While he was there, one of his students walked in and sat down. But it didn’t take long for the little boy to become antsy and restless in his seat — if only he had something to keep him occupied. This is when Alvin came across an ingenious idea: encouraging young children to read in barbershops. So, the elementary school teacher created Barbershop Books, a nonprofit that aims to inspire young African American boys and other vulnerable children to read for fun. Over the past five years, the organization has delivered 50,000 free books to more than 200 barbershops in primarily African American
If you would like to get involved, please visit BarbershopBooks.org for more information on how you can volunteer or donate.
I must say, downsizing has been hectic — I didn’t know we had so many belongings! Allison and I are focusing on one room at a time and creating “keep” and “donate” piles as we go along. Right now, it looks like our home exploded! Boxes are scattered all over the place. While it’s been crazy trying to determine where everything should go, it’s been a great experience because we know we are doing it to make our lives easier in the future. I look forward to what this next chapter of life has to offer me and my family! I hope your holiday season is as enjoyable as mine, but maybe not as hectic.
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few months have been extremely helpful in my recovery and overall health and well-being, and I decided to give it another go. Allison will start the challenge soon, and I can’t wait to share this experience with her. But that’s not the only thing Allison and I plan on doing. We are currently in the process of clearing out our home and donating items we no longer need. Our goal is to have the bare necessities and start fresh. We plan on visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Indiana for several weeks each month out of the year. We want to use Airbnb and rent our house for a few weeks at a time because they plan on growing their family soon, and we don’t want to miss any part of it! We want to be able to assist them in any way we can as they transition into these new roles.
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During your Thanksgiving feast, your dining room table is covered in turkey, gravy, stuffing, cornbread, apple cider, cranberry sauce and other delicious main and side dishes. Today, these are Thanksgiving basics. But why is that? Today, we wanted to highlight three foods connected to the holiday and their history. TURKEY This dish originated in the New World when English settlers ventured across the pond to start a new life. The governor of the Plymouth Plantation mentions in his notes that turkey was very prominent in their everyday diet — and some hypothesize that it was a part of the first Thanksgiving feast! English settlers and Spaniards who returned to their homeland brought the fowl home, which was a huge hit. The English consider turkey to be the New World bird. It wasn’t until the turn of the 19th century that turkey became a popular dish to serve around the holidays. APPLE CIDER Centuries ago, cider was the colony’s national beverage. It’s said that the Massachusetts colony in 1767 drank around 35 gallons of cider per person. The water supply back then was not suitable to drink, so their next best choice was to sip on cider throughout the day. Because of how popular and easily accessible the beverage was, it’s no wonder it’s now considered a Thanksgiving staple — pilgrims, colonists, farmers, homesteaders and pioneers were drinking it for hundreds of years! PUMPKIN PIE Before the first colonists arrived in the New World, pumpkins were already a prominent ingredient in many indigenous tribes’ diets. When English settlers arrived, they used pumpkin to make several meals, and there are even cookbooks from the 1600s that feature pumpkin pie recipes. However, the dessert didn’t appear on Thanksgiving tables until the 1800s. Additionally, in Tad Tuleja’s notes in his chapter about pumpkins in the book “Rooted in America,” he mentioned that President Lincoln caused pumpkin pie to be a Thanksgiving staple after stating that the dessert was “an indispensable part of a good and true Yankee Thanksgiving.” During the holidays, October Kitchen prides itself on creating mouth-watering meals that pay tribute to the foods you all know and love to eat during Thanksgiving. Be sure to try one of our meals today by calling us, visiting us online or stopping by our store! FROM THE NEW WORLD TO YOUR TABLE EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF 3 POPULAR THANKSGIVING DISHES
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INSIDE Did You Know? Paul Once Rocked the ZZ Top Look!
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How Barbershop Books Is Empowering Children to Read
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Word Search
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People Used to Drink 35 Gallons of Cider?!
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The Heroic Hound Who Saved a Life in Japan’s Tsunami
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A DOG’S INTUITION: HOW BABU SAVED HER HUMAN FROM A TSUNAMI
The tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 was unimaginable; the natural disaster killed nearly 20,000 people in minutes. But amid the chaos, there was at least one tiny miracle: an 11-year-old Shih Tzu named Babu. Tami Akanuma, an 83-year-old woman living in the coastal city of Miyako, had her typical morning interrupted by a 9.0 earthquake that shook her house roughly 200 yards from the coast. When it stopped, she breathed a sigh of relief, but Babu became extremely agitated. The small dog began frantically pacing around the living room, moaning and jumping at the door. Though it was early for Babu’s morning walk, Akanuma decided to appease her. Sources differ on what happened next. Some say officials broadcast a tsunami warning, and Akanuma realized she must evacuate, while others state she knew nothing of the impending disaster. But everyone agrees that Babu jumped into action. She instantly headed for a large hill near Akanuma’s home — the opposite direction of the pair’s usual walk. Akanuma did not dismiss the dog’s instincts. Babu tugged urgently at her leash, running as far as she could before
turning to her owner. Akanuma said Babu seemed to be encouraging her to move faster, and the dog ran ahead every time Akanuma caught up. Akanuma later estimated they walked more than half a mile in a few minutes. Only moments after the duo finally reached the top of the hill, they watched an enormous wave wash over their home. The house was destroyed, but Akanuma and Babu escaped with their lives. How did Babu do it? People have long suspected that animals can predict natural disasters, but the truth is elusive. Scientists agree that animals aren’t psychic but disagree on whether something else might be at play. Some attribute the supposed phenomenon to the “psychological focusing effect,” or a human tendency to emphasize one detail in our memories while discarding others. But others point to dogs’ heightened senses of hearing and smell, suggesting animals may be able to detect small atmospheric changes that humans can’t. No matter the explanation, Akanuma credited her dog with saving her life, and the two gratefully celebrated Babu’s 12th birthday from an evacuation shelter only weeks later.
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