Why is this chicken stew better than all others: Or, how will I ever get it all done

I opined to Scott that perhaps it was the felicitous blend of spices that made my latest chicken stew so irresistible. Or perhaps it was all the lovely people I talked to on the phone while I was chopping the veggies. Here's the recipe for this kidney-healthy recipe in which the chicken plays a minor role:

boneless chicken thighs
low-sodium chicken stock
carrots
celery
onion
garlic
collard greens
red peppers, green peppers
raw rice
noodles

cook all till soft and the aroma wafts from the kitchen out the front door and down the street

season with:

fresh parsley
bay leaves
cinnamon stick

Not an ounce of salt in the whole stew, yet tasty as a meringue pie or an Auntie Annie Soft Pretzel.

Tomorrow, Claudia Beechman and I will install an April is Poetry Month display case at the Abington Free Library. I was shocked when the library called me and told me to come in tomro to set it up.

I hadn't known I'd signed up! I said nary a word and called Claude hoping she were free. Claude aka La Chanteuse called and said those beautiful three words: YES.

I go to my library to return my materials and bump into the head librarian.

Margie: Are you coming tomorrow?

RZD: I haven't read the book.

Margie: It's short. You'll love it.

So, I'm slurping my chicken stew which is absolutely out of this world good (oh, wait'll I tell Arnie! he'll die!) and I'm reading Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder. We read it in high school but I can't remember a thing except they all fell off the bridge and died.

What for? That's the purpose of the book. To discover this truth.

We either believe there's a divine plan for all things, or that randomness and chance rule the world.