As American as Apple Pie?
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating the Spirit of America
By Laurie Carnright Edwards

In hospitality, the chief thing is the good will.
~Greek Proverb

Apple season in New Hampshire — there’s nothing like it. Apple picking, hayrides through the orchard, the taste of fresh, tart macs right off the tree, and the promise of homemade apple goodies to come. You arrive home with bags full of wonderful apples and the delightful task of deciding what to do with all that goodness. There are apple crisps, apple tarts, applesauce, apple cobbler — everything apple — but best of all is hot apple pie right out of the oven. It’s a time of cooking and baking and sharing with friends and neighbors. What a wonderful surprise to find a freshly baked pie left on your doorstep, and if the baker chooses to remain anonymous, trying to figure out who the giver is only adds to the fun.

When one of our church’s deacons asked if I thought the refugee family that had recently begun attending our church would enjoy finding an apple pie on their doorstep, I told him that was a wonderful idea. I had visions of Albert and Marie opening their front door to find a freshly baked pie on the porch and being delighted. I imagined their children enjoying the pie and thinking what a wonderful country they had moved to where people left delicious pies on your doorstep. What I never dreamed was that I could be creating a situation of crisis and fear. (Keep reading)