As I have been out and about my neighborhood and a few of the adjacent suburbs, I have seen several signs for a 'Booya'. I have to admit that, until a few years ago, I always asked myself "What in the world is a Booya?" But a few Octobers ago, we actually stopped and found out.
We followed the people and the laughter to a large cauldron of soup being cooked over an outdoor fire. It was a hearty, meat based soup with vegetables and what I imagined were its own set of spices known only by the booya-makers. I have since learned that it is a soup that probably has its origins in Easter Europe but my sense is that, on this side of the pond, it has been adopted by many people hailing from many different ancestries. It is an autumn tradition. People gather together to prepare for the coming winter, share in the harvest and the good company of those around them. What could be better?
Seeing these signs has caused me to think about the many ways people have gathered to create community. None of these are particularly complex or expensive endeavors. In fact, the more simple the experience, the more people are likely to be involved and engaged. I thought about all the people throughout time who have gathered around fires, around cauldrons, to toast the end of summer and to look around at the faces, memorizing the lines and smiles for the winter ahead when isolation sets in. It made me want to build a fire and do a booya in our backyard!
Last weekend the smell and feel of fall was settling in like a blanket. I did the only thing that seemed right….I took out the heaviest soup pot I have and made a rich corn chowder. We nibbled from that pot all weekend. But it didn't really create the 'booya effect'. We forgot the most important part. We forgot to invite people to share the warmth and nourishment of the soup.
The weather forecasters are predicting snow flurries over the next few days. There is still time to make another pot of stick-to-your-bones soup rich with the glories of summer gardens. Autumn is here and it is time to gather warmth…..of soup and of friends, old and new. It seems the only sensible thing to do.
"A soup like this is not the work of one man. It is the result of a constantly refined tradition. There are nearly a thousand years of history in this soup." Willa Cather, Death Comes to the Archbishop