Cannoli
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Ps 34:8
Pssst! Hey, you wanna buy a cannoli? - Coulter whispers to passing students and teachers as he lifts one side of his coat to reveal rows of carefully hung chocolate chip cannoli.
OK, that’s not how it happened. But that is what I picture when I think of Coulter’s clandestine cannoli business he ran in high school with his buddy Sterling. He actually had a small cooler, and because he had taken multiple Culinary classes, he was trying to be respectful of the refrigeration requirements for dairy products.
If you've ever made cannoli, you know they're anything but simple. They take time, patience, and more work than most people realize.
Coulter would prepare all he could the night before, but would wake up early, really early, to make the cannoli to be sold that day at school. A practice that lets’s just say was probably not fully supported by school policies. But nevertheless, he had many students, and more than a few teachers buying fresh homemade cannoli on the regular, at about $5 a pop.
But what most don’t know is that his love of cannoli was a lifelong love affair.
The picture on the left was taken when Coulter was about 2, as he rubbed his hands in the chocolate sauce of his father's birthday cannoli he just shared; his mother looking on approvingly.
The picture on the right is of Coulter in front of a stack of his own birthday cannoli, his mother prepared for his party, just before a crew of his friends showed up to celebrate with him. If you look closely, his mom and dad are in the mirror taking the picture and smiling in delight.
From now on, when you're at an Italian restaurant and you are thinking of skipping dessert, don’t.
Order the cannoli.
Smile and enjoy the pastry and the memory of Coulter, who loved making them and sharing them as much as he loved eating them.
Celebrate the people in your life. Delight in your children and in the mess; in your parents and their love; in celebrations, friendships, and relationships you’ve been given.
Delight in the Love of your Heavenly Father, who also delights in you.
You Are Loved More than You Know.
Coulter and Sterling . . . Makin De Cannoli!