THE BOOK OF SPAM

Hello fellow Mooers and Chewers on the Cud of the Word of God.

This Recommended Ruminator Reading is brought to you (unofficially) by SPAM...the unofficial canned meat of the Ruminator Sunday School Class.

I started talking about Spam and my love for Spam...as a joke...that has turned into a running gag in class. Periodically...when someone says something that is interesting, poignant, thought provoking...I will deem it as SPAM WORTHY...and pass out a can of SPAM...if I have one laying around in my bag. Spam...a delightful blend of spices and ham...the unofficial canned meat of the Ruminator Sunday School Class. Spam has even made it into the food that Chris and Tammy has brought in for the class. In reality...I eat Spam every three to four years...fried to a crisp.

When I was looking around McKay's bookstore in Nashville...I came across a book called THE BOOK OF SPAM: A Most Glorious and Definitive Compendium of the World's Favorite Canned Meat. The book is by Dan Armstrong and Dustin Black published by ATRIA Books.

"Reading The Book of Spam is like getting a Ph.D in Canned Meat! (Or at lest a Master's in Awesomeness.)

This book is chock full of vital information...of the most trivial kind...that will give you hours of pleasure. I personally find that this is the perfect book to place in your bathroom library...to read in snippets...as you meditate in the privacy of your personal space.

This is no cheap book thrown together on cheap paper and fuzzy photographs. It is a top notch production with full color photos, time lines, historical facts, and just plain fun stuff.

Not only does this book touch on the history of Spam...but the history of cans and canned meats from ancient times...World War II...Old Time Radio
Monty Python's SPAMALOT Broaway musical ripped off form Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and the history of Spam advertising...and much, much more.

I listen to a lot of Old Time Radio... and heard a Spam Commercial on the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.

"The first radio jingle for SPAM is also argued to be the first radio jingle ever!" I also heard this on The Burns and Allen Show (at that time the hottest show on radio)...on Old Time Radio. It went a little something like this: " Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam...Hormel's new MIRACLE MEAT IN A CAN...Saves time, tastes fine...to eat something grand...ask for SPAM." George and Gracie even had a pet pig named SPAMMY...."Totally cute...Totally delicious."

Of course we can't overlook the HAWAII SPAM CONNECTION. When Brenda and I went to Hawaii (for our 25th Wedding Anniversary)...we stopped in to McDonalds for a quick bite...and the salads...had Spam and Pineapple on it. "Introduced to the islands during WWII, SPAM quickly became a part of Hawaiian society. Every self-respecting Hawaiian eats it. They say that SPAM is "ono" That means GOOD."

There is even a SPAM MUSEUM at 1937 Spam Boulevard, Austin, Minnesota.

For more information...check out www.spam.com


Well...that's about it. I would give this book...5 moo moos.

Love and Spammy Kisses
Rodney "A Delightful Blend of Spices and Ham" Boyd