People often ask me which bottled water is the best.  I wish the answer were as easy to derive as the question is to ask.  As with most things the American consumer is grossly under informed about the differences between various bottled waters and so it is my hope to address that lack of information and attempt to answer the question.

The first thing you have to know is that there are various kinds of bottled water and these are not directly comparable to one another.  The International Bottled Water Association provides the following description of different water types on their website:

What are the different types of bottled water?  

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) website states (1):  

The 'FDA has established a bottled water Standard of Identity to define the several different types of bottled water based on specific characteristics of the product. Bottled water products meeting the Standard of Identity may be labeled as bottled water or drinking water, or one or more of the following terms:

Spring Water - Bottled water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. Spring water must be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. Spring water collected with the use of an external force must be from the same underground stratum as the spring and must have all the physical properties before treatment, and be of the same composition and quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface of the earth.

Purified Water - Water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other suitable processes while meeting the definition of purified water in the United States Pharmacopoeia may be labeled as purified bottled water. Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the above processes may include “distilled water” if it is produced by distillation, deionized water” if it is produced by deionization or “reverse osmosis water” if the process used is reverse osmosis. Alternatively, “___ drinking water” can be used with the blank being filled in with one of the terms defined in this paragraph (e.g., “purified drinking water” or “distilled drinking water“).

Mineral Water - Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water. Mineral water is distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the source. No minerals can be added to this product.

Sparkling Bottled Water - Water that after treatment, and possible replacement with carbon dioxide, contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had as it emerged from the source. Sparkling bottled waters may be labeled as “sparkling drinking water,” “sparkling mineral water,” “sparkling spring water,” etc.

Artesian Water/Artesian Well Water - Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a water-bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer.
Well Water - Bottled water from a hole bored, drilled or otherwise constructed in the ground, which taps the water aquifer.'    

As you can see, the differences vary widely.  The typical consumer may be familiar with Perrier, which is a sparkling water, Arrowhead or Poland Springs, which are popular spring waters, or the Coke and Pepsi brands of 'highly purified' tap water.

So Which Water is the Best?

The second issue might be to qualify the discussion of what the word 'best' means.  That word could mean different things to different people. For instance when I ask Michael Mascha, publisher of Fine Waters, about publishing this article he responded with, "I have a hard time determining which is the best water as I enjoy especially the difference in waters. It would be similar to ask what is the best wine or chocolate. The range is the beauty.  Having said this I think it is important that the waters fall into a certain set of ranges in order to be drinkable."

To some consumers like Michael, best might be found in a particularly delightful taste.  Others might be drinking bottled water to achieve specific health benefits not found in untreated tap water.  Many people in the U.S. today are drinking bottled water because of a growing fear of the contaminants in tap water.

To be completely fair and unbiased one must allow each individual to determine what they mean when referring to their favorite bottled water.  But for the purposes of this discussion and my particular clientele I want to focus on the issue of health.

Increasingly there are growing concerns about the leaching of pthalates, known endocrine disrupters, as well as antimony (2) from water in plastic bottles.  Other concerns include bacteria.  The Natural Resources Defense Council compiled an extensive list of test results from bottled water they collected and sampled. (3)

Other health concerns that pertain to bottled water include the physical characteristics of the water, including pH (acidity) and the presence or absence of minerals.  For the sake of comparison I've compiled a chart of the pH and mineral content of some popular spring waters.  You can see it at:

[Link Removed]  

By reviewing the chart one can observe a wide range of variation among different waters.  That begs the question from a health perspective what set of physical characteristics is ideal?  I would venture to suggest that a pH of 7.4 to 7.6 is ideal.  This is the pH of human blood and optimum for drinking water.  Some people prefer to drink highly alkaline water, in the range of 8 or 9.  And while some people may enjoy the taste of low pH acidic water some health advocates and practitioners suggest that acidic drinks and foods contribute to increasing the body's vulnerability to disease. (5)

Additionally there is increasing evidence from a number of studies funded by the World Health Organization that people who drink water containing minerals experience lower rates of disease than those who drink water with the minerals removed. (6)  Of specific concern are the presence of calcium and magnesium in water.  Both contribute significantly to an individual's health.  One Canadian study compares the mineral content and potential health effects of minerals in water. (7)

The WHO debate has caused the Water Quality Association (ie: the US water treatment industry) to hold discussions about the health impacts of removing minerals through both the Reverse Osmosis and Water Softening technologies.  A recent seminar discussed the benefits of adding these two minerals back into water after treatment.  When I prescribe reverse osmosis treatment for my customers I always recommend a post membrane calcium filter.  This provides calcium but perhaps more importantly increases the pH of otherwise acidic RO water.  This may be why Coca-Cola adds magnesium (epsom salts) to its RO treated Dasani water.

Total dissolved solids (tds) is the sum total of all the minerals in water.  While minerals are desirable there is a range of suitability.  Since tds is comprised of a number of substances, high levels will affect the taste of water and may also affect toxicity. (8)  Generally, a low tds is considered by some health practitioners to be more hydrating.  EPA has set it's Maximum Contaminant Level for tds in drinking water at 500 mg/l for aesthetic purposes.  Water with a very low tds, say 30 or less, will have a sharp crisp taste, perhaps considered 'clean' by some.  A higher tds, in the range of 150 to 250, provides more 'mouth feel' or 'taste'.

Returning momentarily to the issue of preference, some people may enjoy the distinct flavor of the mineral waters such as Perrier or Pellegrino.  It is the high tds  and high sulfates that contribute to the unique taste.  I personally prefer a water (tap or bottled) with a tds in the range of 40 to 225.

There's another issue of importance from an environmental perspective.  That's the issue of transportation energy.  Ideally, consumers should choose water produced locally.  It has been said that it takes a quart of oil to import one bottle of Fiji water. (9)  That's a ridiculous waste of energy.  A responsible consumer has to consider the transportation costs of using any particular product.  Ideally, you'll drink local water.

A final point is appropriate to this discussion.  I drink bottled water when I'm away from home or on the road.  Most public water supplies are of similar quality to bottled water.  The differences may be quite minor with the notable exception of the presence of chlorine or chloramine and their carcinogenic byproducts.  Drinking chlorinated tap water has been linked to increased rates of cancer. (10)  Other specific and potentially harmful contaminants may also be present.  With appropriate treatment most tap water can be made to be of equal or higher quality than any of the spring waters and certainly than any of the 'highly purified' bottle waters available in the marketplace today.  There is no reason you can't have bottled water quality in your own home.  The key is in the treatment.  

When I prescribe a water treatment system for my customers, I review their water quality issues and then tell them what I would choose for my own family.  My major concern and that of my customers is drinking healthy water.  So, when I pick bottled water I look for a spring water to obtain beneficial minerals in moderate amounts with a pH of 7.4 or higher.  And, if it's available, I'll choose a glass container over plastic to avoid the possibility of leaching.  You can choose the bottled water that suits your purpose, whether that's to experience a delightfully unique taste to compliment a fine dinner or a healthy and environmentally appropriate choice.

***

Jim McMahon is an ecologist with over 30 years experience, some ten plus years dealing with various water quality issues.  He provides consulting services and water treatment equipment to individuals and businesses throughout the U.S., working from his home overlooking a headwaters trout stream in Brookside, Utah.  You may learn more about him by visiting [Link Removed]  

References

(1) Frequently Asked questions. International Bottled Water Association. 25 Feb 04.
[Link Removed]   Accessed: 1 May 07

(2)  Smith, Cameron.  "Bottled water questions."  The Toronto Star. Mar. 18, 2006. 01:00 AM  Excerpt: 'Shotyk is director of the Institute of Environmental Geochemistry at Heidelberg University in Germany, and has just published research establishing that the plastic containers commonly used for bottling water leach antimony into the water. . . '

(3) "Appendix A: SUMMARY OF NRDC‘S TEST RESULTS, Bottled Water Contaminants Found." Natural Resources Defense Council.   [Link Removed]  Accessed: May 1, 2007

(4) Chart compiled from public data supplied on the websites of each of these bottled water companies.

(5) Tunsky, Gary. The Battle Over Health is About pH, New Century Press: 1/05.

(6) McMahon, James P.   [Link Removed]  See my resource library

(7) Azoulay, Arik, Garzon, Phillipe, and Mark J. Eisenberg. "Comparison of the Mineral Content of Tap Water and Bottled Waters." Journal of General Internal Medicine. 16 Mar 01.       [Link Removed]
Accessed: 1 May 07.

(8) "Total Dissolved Solids" Wikipedia 2 May 07 [Link Removed]  

(9) "FIJI Water." Wikipedia. 1 May 07 [Link Removed]  Accessed 1 May 07.  

(10) "Cristina M. Villanueva, et al" Total and specific fluid consumption as determinants of bladder cancer risk, [Link Removed] , Acessed 2 May 07.

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A study released by the Associated Press on Monday showed test results indicating the presence of drugs in drinking water of some 41 million Americans.  Since then consumers around the country have been scrambling to learn what they can do to remove these contaminants.  Many people are purchasing water treatment equipment in an attempt to find peace of mind.  Often they will purchase the wrong equipment.

There are problems with making a quick decision about what to buy and Ecologist James P McMahon, owner of Sweetwater, LLC points these out.

The probe on drugs in drinking water recommended reverse osmosis as the treatment method that proved most effective in removing pharmaceuticals from water.  What the study failed to mention are the downfalls of reverse osmosis.

Reverse osmosis refers to a multi-stage system in which one stage consists of a film membrane.  Water is forced through the membrane leaving contaminants behind.  This removes not only contaminants but also naturally occurring minerals.  Numerous studies funded by the World Health Organization show that people who drink water with minerals suffer lower rates of disease than people who do not.

Another issue with reverse osmosis is that because water is the universal solvent removing minerals will lower the pH of that water.  Consumers will therefore be drinking acidic water, which some health practitioners would suggest is unhealthy.  McMahon recommends drinking water that is pH neutral or only slightly alkaline.  Most city water is already alkaline.

Finally, reverse osmosis systems have been known to grow bacteria colonies or mold in the storage tank.  If a consumer chooses to use a reverse osmosis system they also must be sure to clean the system annually or they may create new problems with their water.

Each of these objections to reverse osmosis can be overcome by purchasing a system that addresses them.  

The way an individual can make certain that they are purchasing the correct water purification system is to start by looking at a copy of their city's water report.  Consumers may call the city and request a copy and can often find the report online with a simple search for 'city, state water quality report'.  Because pharmaceuticals and other complex chemicals are not regulated they will not be listed in this report.  What they will find in the text of the report is the specific water source ? be it a lake, river, or well.  If the source is surface water such as a lake or river, then just look upstream.  If there are cities upstream of their water source then these types of contaminants will be present.  The larger the upstream population, the larger the problem.

After determining the source of water, a consumer may then look at the table of contaminants in the water report.  The specific contaminants will determine the type of home water purification system that is appropriate.  

McMahon recommends that consumers buy the system that removes the contaminants in their water.  "In many cases a multi-stage filter system is superior to reverse osmosis", says McMahon.  Whether or not carbon filters remove pharmaceuticals is currently unknown.

McMahon describes a five step process for determining the appropriate water purification system in Sweetwater's Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Perfect Water Treatment System, available for free for a limited time.

According to McMahon, "Regardless of the presence of unregulated drugs in drinking water, chlorinated tap water has been linked by numerous studies to a variety of cancers and other health issues."  

"The problem of municipal tap water is one of both language and perception," adds McMahon.  

Water utility managers maintain that the water they deliver to consumers is safe and meets all EPA standards.  The fact remains that drinking chlorinated water is not safe even if it does meet EPA standards.  These standards are a political compromise and only tangentially based upon health.

McMahon's perspective is that people expectation that government agencies deliver water that is healthy is unrealistic.  

"The world has grown very complex and the fact is that there is much we do not know," says McMahon.  "Let's expect government to deliver disease free water and then also expect to treat it ourselves if we'd like to make it healthy."

There are thousands of man made chemicals all of which are potentially in drinking water.  Additional studies of unregulated contaminants are necessary and perhaps most importantly is the need to identify which treatment processes, including carbon, reverse osmosis, and ozone will remove them.

McMahon advises that "Rather than rushing out and buying a water purification system that may bring peace of mind without providing actual protection, consumers should take the time to consider where they live and which water purification system will provide the healthiest water."  

***

Ecologist James P McMahon works from his home in Brookside, Utah.  He provides home water purification systems to families seeking to enjoy healthy water.

Perhaps you read the AP article this weekend about pharmaceuticals in drinking water.

Some 41 million Americans drink water containing trace amounts of a wide variety of drugs.  These are drugs that have been used by people upstream, passing through their bodies only partially absorbed by their body and the remainder entering the sewers.  

This includes both prescription and illegal drugs, though the latter are not mentioned.

Waste water is treated for fecal material and bacteria but not for contaminants such as these.  The water then flows downstream to the point where the next city withdraws water to provide to their citizens as drinking water.

I've been telling you about this problem for several years now.  Read more here:

[Link Removed]  

Cut and paste if the link is broken or visit my library:

[Link Removed]  

People are asking me what treatments systems remove these chemicals from water.  Unfortunately the answer is that no one knows.  I spoke to the technical support staff at the Water Quality Association just the other day and asked this same question.  The response is that no doubt some pharmaceuticals are removed by the sort of treatment systems I sell, but some may not be.  

At this point not only does no one know for sure, no one is testing systems to determine what does work.  

I'm not trying to scare you by sharing this information.  I think our expectations for water from municipalities is unrealistic.  If you want healthy water, you have to treat it appropriately when it arrives at your home.

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The topic is controversial with cities regularly claiming that tap water is safe to drink and shower in, but as early as 1993 a Greenpeace study reported a link between chlorine and breast cancer.  

The Greenpeace study cites the build up of organochlorines ? carcinogenic byproducts produced when chlorine interacts with organic material in water ? throughout the environment.  Organochlorines also include chemicals such as DDT, PCBs, CFCs, and others.  Almost 80 percent of chlorine use in this country is in the production of plastics, pesticides and solvents.  These chemicals can persist in the environment for decades and in some cases, such as pesticide application, may be dispersed by air over huge areas.  One example is the exposure of the entire Western US from activities in China carried here on the trade winds.

These chemicals, including pesticides and solvents have been found in the body tissue of individuals throughout the US.  They may be toxic in tiny doses and can affect a variety of human functions.  Several studies have found a link between these chemicals in blood and breast tissue and women with breast cancer.

By the late 1990s EPA began regulating the carcinogenic byproducts of chlorine in municipal water supplies.  In my view, these low levels of carcinogens are extremely dangerous.

As I stated this issue remains controversial. The link between these chemicals and breast cancer remains unproven.  Still, the most prudent course of action is one of caution.  

What you can do:

Think twice before using pesticides.  Look for alternatives like orange peel extract.

Use natural cleaning alternatives to bleach.  See my Natural Cleaning Tips.

Use kitchen and shower or whole house water purification systems to remove chlorine from your drinking/cooking and bathing water.

If you live in an agricultural area close your windows and turn off your air conditioning when the farmers are spraying.

Further research on this issue has been done and I will update this article periodically as I'm able to review the findings.

My name is [Link Removed]  and I help people achieve healthy water in their homes.

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Cleaning your house shouldn’t compromise you or your family’s health. Take care of the environment, including your septic system and private well, or the water others will use who live downstream of you by using nontoxic, natural cleaners. Here are some down-to-earth suggestions for cleaning your home with basic household ingredients, for a clean, safe home that doesn’t expose your family to toxic chemicals.  

?Baking soda: An all-purpose cleaner especially effective for cleaning glass coffee pots and glassware, and removing red-wine stains from carpeting. A paste (made with water) can shine stainless steel and silver, and remove tea stains from cups and saucers. Make a paste with a castile- or vegetable-based liquid soap and a drop of essential oil (tea tree or lavender) to clean sinks, countertops, toilets and tubs. Pour 1 cup down the sink to clear a clogged drain, followed by 3 cups of boiling water or hot vinegar (wow!).  

?Boiling water: Use to flush drains and avoid clogs.  

?Coarse salt: Cleans copper pans and scours cookware. Sprinkle salt on fresh spills in the oven, then wipe off. Sprinkle salt on rust stains and squeeze a lime or lemon over them, let sit for several hours and wipe off.  When you burn the inside of a pot while cooking, put some water in it, add a generous amount of salt and this will loosen the burnt food, which you can then scrub off more readily with steel wool.

?Grapefruit seed extract: Add 10 to 20 drops to water in a spray bottle for an odorless way to kill mold and mildew.  

?Lemon juice: Use as a bleaching agent on clothing, and to remove grease from stoves and countertops. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice to 10 drops of (real) lemon oil and a few drops of jojoba oil to clean and polish wood furniture.  

?Olive oil: Use to lubricate and polish wood furniture (three parts olive oil to one part vinegar; or two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice).  

?Tea tree oil: Can be added to vinegar/water solutions for its antibacterial properties. Use it to kill mold and mildew, and on kitchen and bathroom surfaces instead of chemical products. Add 50 drops to a bucket of water to clean countertops and tile floors.  

?White vinegar: Cleans linoleum floors and glass (from windows to shower doors) when mixed with water and a little liquid soap (castile or vegetable). Cuts grease and removes stains; removes soap scum and cleans toilets (add a bit of baking soda if you like). Pour down drains once a week for antibacterial cleaning, and add to water in a spray bottle to kill mold and mildew.  

?To clean showerheads and faucet aerators with calcium build up that has affected the nozzle function, either remove the showerhead and soak it in the vinegar or fill a plastic bag with vinegar and place the bag around the showerhead like a feedbag for a horse.  Fully immerse the showerhead in the vinegar.  Tie the open end of the bag with a twist tie and let it soak for 24 hours.  Let it run for a minute after you remove the bag and then use it.

?Boric Acid: Can be used as an insecticide or insect barrier.

Borax: Add Borax to deodorize laundry.  Also use 1/2 cup Borax with 1/2 cup vinegar & 1 gallon of hot water as a general purpose cleaner.  2 Tbsp Borax, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 2 cups hot water in a spray bottle is a good cleaner, too.

Pumice stone: A great way to remove calcium build-up in toilet bowls or sinks.  It won’t harm the surface of your fixture.

Sounds old fashioned doesn't it?  Well, one of the problems today is that we've invented numerous chemical which end up in our water when they're flushed down the drain.  To read more about that problem, see this article:

[Link Removed]  

We've become accustomed to using a variety of strong chemicals in our homes.  You can take steps to protect your own family members, your septic system and private well, and the water that others will use after you do?..

My name is Jim McMahon and I help people achieve healthy water in their homes.

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I stood in the kitchen mixing the ingredients to our favorite cake; a spice cake made from scratch.  My mom had made this cake for us when we were kids and I'd made it for my kids since they'd been very young.  I continue to make it for them now on special occasions.  I have to really pay attention when I make this cake, because I have often left out an ingredient in the past.  Or I have inadvertently burnt the bottom of the cake or left the freshly baked cake halves in their pans too long after cooking and then not been able to remove them.    A great deal of effort, this cake.  It requires concentration, more than I am typically willing to give.

My thoughts turned to my two children.  They'd be in the car by now, on their way to the airport.  They lived with their mother, my ex-wife, on the other side of the country.  They visit as prescribed by the court order, not a day more.  Since my ex knows that they are the only thing in her possession that I still care about, she uses the visitations as a means to deny me something she knows I hold dear.  She'll slice a day or two off of each visit when she can interpret the order to allow her to get away with it.  But she is right about one thing: I love those two kids.  I am determined to make the most of every moment we spend together.  I wondered if they looked forward to their visits with me.  Turning back to the bowl, I concentrated again on the ingredients.  

We'd be celebrating my son's birthday on this visit.  Hence the cake.  I am trying to instill in them a sense for who we are, for my side of the family.  As a single father, I have to cram all of my intentions into these short visits.  My intentions?what are those exactly?  What is a divorced dad's role in the life of his children?  What are the possibilities?

I pondered these issues and note my own parent's role in my life.  My dad had worked hard during the years I'd spent growing up.  He wasn't always fully present.  And yet he had been there?on weekends, in the evenings.  And somehow, in those moments we shared, he had passed on to me some very valuable lessons.

He'd taught me things that stayed with me.  We'd had sufficient money when I was young, but he wasn't particularly free with it.  I could have most anything I wanted, as long as I could figure out a way to pay for it.  As a result, I'd learned how to work for what I wanted and to appreciate what I had.

Somehow he'd made it clear that he was our safety net, that in times of need, we could count on him to be there for us.  Even when he and I entered our difficult years of separating from each other, I always knew that, if I had to, I could count on him.  As a result, I'd learned about freedom.  I'd learned that I could venture out and take a risk.  I was indirectly encouraged to try the world on for size, because I risked nothing much, other than to have to come home and tell him that I'd failed.  'Home is a place where if you have to go there, they have to take you in,' he would say to us often, but I knew there was more love in the saying of it than those words convey.

Turning back to the bowl in front of me, I checked the list of ingredients once again.  Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar.  Yep, they were all in the bowl.  Now, sift three times to mix thoroughly?.  There are certainly no shortcuts to making this cake.

My father gave me the gift of creating an interesting and fulfilling life.  I chose and crafted the adventure, made my own decisions, tried things that most people never get a chance to try.  I have lived an interesting life.  I've never let myself get trapped in a spot for too long.  And when I have found myself trapped, I've always managed to break free.  Freedom of choice and hard work have served me well.

Some lessons I had to learn on my own.  Nothing had ever been handed to me.  I'd worked for what I had.  At one point I'd found that earning money wasn't what it was all about either.  I let go of earning money and chose instead to work in a field that held more interest for me, was more in tune with who I am.  Would I have dared try that without his encouragement many years before?

My dad was never much of a sports fan and neither am I.  We didn't spend any time tossing balls in the backyard.  Instead, he taught me how to care for land and raise animals.  We'd grown up on rural land where I spent summer days running in the woods, playing in streams, exploring, learning, and experiencing as I ventured out on my own.  Yes, my dad had provided a physical environment that reflected the values he wished to share.  And that environment shaped the person I was to become.

Add to the flour mixture one cup of sour milk and three quarters of a cup of high grade shortening.  (I'd left out the shortening in the past)  Beat for two minutes?.

And what of my mother?  What had she imparted to us?  They were very different, my mom and dad.  While my dad had given us the tools for our experience of life, my mother had passed on more subtle lessons.  She taught me the meaning of unconditional love.  And she taught us things like hope and passion, optimism and trust.  She is a good woman who is bound to trust first and only learned skepticism as a result of disappointment.  She'd trust most anyone until they proved unworthy.  As a result, I learned a basic approach that I still employ: a man is as good as his word.  I'll cut any deal on a handshake and anyone can take advantage of me once.  After that, well after that I consider it my fault if it happens again.

My mom was one of those old fashioned moms who made real meals from scratch.  We sat down as a family and ate a meal that she'd made fresh that day.  And at the end of every meal, a home made desert was in store.  A lot of effort went into those meals.  All in all, it was a good life.

Now add three unbeaten eggs and beat for two more minutes.  Grease two cake pans using the shortening.  Sprinkle flour over the shortening until finely coated.  Pour the cake mixture into each pan.  Spread evenly with a spatula.  Bake in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Test the cake to see if it is done by inserting a toothpick?.

And just how was it that these lessons were handed down?  I can't say that I understand that part.  As near as I can figure, the lessons come from modeling the behavior.  Take another lesson as an example.  The lesson of life-long learning: we didn't sit in front of the TV every Sunday watching football.  It was more the case that we were ever on to something new: raising gamebirds, breeding and racing homing pigeons, flying radio controlled airplanes, building a small outbuilding or pond, planting trees, or searching for just the right target so we could set up a range in our backyard and learn how to properly and safely shoot a rifle.  Change was the constant.  An ever-broadening range of interests was the norm.

The times I remember best from when I was really young were our family vacations.  What experiences!  We'd take long road trips to places we'd never been.  I remember them as great adventures that opened my eyes to other landscapes, other people, and other ways of living.  I can still recall standing at the top of the continental divide in Rocky Mountain National Park and looking out over the great expanse.  Growing up in Illinois, I'd never seen anything like it.

On to the frosting: into two and one half tablespoons of flour gradually blend one half cup of milk, cooking over low heat to a thick paste, stirring constantly.  Set aside and cool to lukewarm.  Meanwhile, cream one half cup of shortening and one half cup of butter with one cup sugar and one quarter teaspoon of salt?.

Being a single father, I have given my own experiences a great deal of thought.  I've translated these into a definite set of values that I want to pass on to my children.  When they visit, they spend a great deal of time just being kids.  Still, I am determined to be subtle about how I convey the values that are important to these two individuals who will one day only possess the memories of their youth and will have to create their own lives from those experiences.

Add the lukewarm paste and beat until fluffy.  Fold in one teaspoon of vanilla.  Add finely chopped walnuts if desired?.

When mom and dad were newlyweds, they'd lived in an apartment owned by Mrs. Baker.  Mom worked while dad went to college on the GI bill.  Mom had learned the spice cake recipe from Mrs. Baker and it had stuck with the family as one of those cornerstone memories.  A family tradition in the truest of senses, Mrs. Baker's spice cake became my favorite over the course of those years.  For me, it became a symbol of family, of who we are. It reflects for me a sense of those times, of the wholeness and goodness that a child has the right to experience.

This spice cake is made from numerous ingredients that are fashioned into a whole by the mixing and baking process.  Likewise our children are fashioned into young adults as we take our own values and blend them in our own special way to communicate what they need to mature and prosper.  The cake symbolizes that craft, the subtlety, of what I'm trying to pass on to my kids.  I'm taking what my parents gave to me and putting those values into that cake.

Using half of the frosting mix between the two layers of cake, then add powdered sugar to the remainder.  If it gets too thick, add just a little milk?.

On this occasion I was successful in my effort.  The cake was baked, the frosting hand painted on, a work of art to look at.  There it stood, fresh and lovely, containing all of the ingredients that Mrs. Baker had intended and all of the values that I hope to impart.  I stood and admired it for a moment before I had to ready myself for the drive to pick up the children.

The rewards due to hard work, a certainty that I am always there for them, unconditional love, a love of the land and animals, a bond to the natural world, trust and integrity, home made meals, and life-long learning: these are the values that I hope to pass on.  Oh I was angry, filled with anguish and remorse when I had to separate from those children.  Leaving them was the hardest thing I have ever done.  And I was disappointed that the dream of family was shattered by incongruent values and experiences between my ex and myself.  Living apart from those children remains the most difficult challenge of my life.  But, I ask you, what can we do about it?  It seems to me that we can either remain in anger or we can reconcile our lives and make the best of it, act deliberately, and choose to give our children the gifts that remain held within that dream of the notion of family.  We can take our stories, values, dreams, and traditions and deliberately pass them along.

As the children and I returned from the airport and entered our home, I watched as their eyes searched discretely for the promised cake.  Yes, there it was.  Dad had delivered as he said he would.  By this time it was late at night and I put them to bed.  But in their dreams they could find comfort and familiarity in being with dad.  They could look forward to the next day, when we would slice into that cake and celebrate not only a birthday, but also our family union, our own traditions.  As I watched them fall asleep and admired their tired faces, I wondered if they would someday grasp the love and the lessons gently crafted into Mrs. Baker's  spice cake.

***

James McMahon  lives in Brookside, Utah where he makes spice cake twice each year.  He has a son, Emrys, and a daughter, Jacquie.  This story is dedicated to them, to his mom and dad, and to all of you single parents trying hard to get it right.

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