Momma is still here!

Some of you might have read my article in the latest Inspiration-Letters, the literary e-zine edited by Mahiruha, and featuring the work of Sri Chinmoy's students.

The article,  The Best Food in Town,  talks about one of my favourite truisms: that food cooked with love is as good as anything cooked by a Cordon Bleu-trained chef in a five-star restaurant. In particular, it talks about a sweet old lady called "Momma", who set up a mobile soup kitchen in Canberra which  I would visit in my youth - at first, because I was broke (and because my equally penniless friends were going). I kept going, however, because the food was so nice.

As I mention in the article, I was walking past not long ago and saw that the soup kitchen was still set up, it was still attracting many grateful youths, but Momma wasn't there. I was afraid to ask about her, just in case I didn't like the answer.

Well... today I discovered that she is still alive and well - and what's more, she still goes out there and does the soup kitchen. (Presumably, she was taking a well-deserved holiday when I last visited.) In fact, last year she was named the inaugural ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Senior Citizen of the Year - something I would have known, if I had been reading the local papers more diligently. What's more, she has just been announced as a finalist this year! She has been doing this since 1979 - some years before I knew about it - and still keeps on giving.

To show the thoroughness of its coverage, the newspaper I was reading even mentioned her name: Stasia Dabrowski. To me (and to hundreds of others over the past three decades), she will always be "Momma".

Well done, Momma! May you (and like-minded people) continue to spread your kindness...