SAMMY THE SWEET POTATO,

I am a sweet potato, and my name is Sammy. You probably think how can a sweet potato have a story to tell? Well, I do so listen close, and you will see that stories can be found anywhere. Once upon a time I was born beneath the ground in a garden. I grew and grew until I pushed my way through the dirt. I felt the warmth of the sun and saw the birds flying overhead. As I lay there on the vine, I felt something pecking at me. Then I heard, "Get away you nasty old bird, this one is mine, shoo." A lady with a basket stood above me she reached down and picked me from the vine. The basket was full of tomatoes, onions, corn and other vegetables from the garden. The lady took the basket inside a house and placed it on a table. As she cleaned each vegetable, she put them in a pot on the stove. When it came my time she took from the basket, cleaned me then laid me aside. She then reached for an empty jar from the cabinet filled it with water and sat it beside me. She picked me up, placed a toothpick on each side and sat me on the rim of the jar, now you probably wonder how I know all about such things. When I was growing beneath the ground, I would hear stories about what horrors the world above held for vegetables.

They were stories of being eaten by birds, rabbits and even humans. Tomatoes were sliced. potatoes were diced lettuce was shredded and the stories went on and on. The vegetables in the garden were all frightened when they were chosen. We all knew sooner or later it would be our turn to be carried off in the basket. Many vegetables left the garden, but few came back. Back to my story, after placing me in the jar with the water she sat me on the windowsill above the sink. I could feel the warm sun on my back and with the water beneath me it felt good. I sat there for a long time until one day I noticed I was sprouting vines they were everywhere. The lady whose name was Becky took hold of one long vine and began to lay it on top of cabinets around the kitchen. She took a vine from my other side and went around the kitchen until she came to the first vine. She intertwined them together and she continued with each vine until she had formed an intertwining vine all along the kitchen wall. Over cabinets and various high hanging pictures. It looked rather beautiful and reminded me of my younger days. Then one morning I noticed there were small flowers on the vines. How wonderful I could not believe all this was from me a little sweet potato. The vines and the flowers continued to grow and till this day I still sit in my jar on the windowsill and stare in amazement at what I have grown into. It sure beats being turned into a sweet potato pie.

So this is my story believe it or not but, I bet someone you know has a sweet potato vine growing in their kitchen, next time you see it think of me, Sammy.