I’ve started to contribute to Sporting Classics Daily, the digital edition to Sporting Classics. Here is my first piece: “The Reluctant Mushroom Hunter”. Read an excerpt below:
I never thought I would take up mushroom hunting.
My parents are seasoned foragers who hunted them in their native Lithuania where it was a national pastime. The prevalence of wild mushrooms, with over 100 edible species available, made the tiny country a household name for it.
In fact, it’s the Baltic nation’s second favorite sport after basketball. Chanterelle, botelus, porcini, and morels are a staple in meat and potato dishes. My parents, like others there, found joy in mushroom hunting – it was a much-needed escape from the Soviet horrors that dominated the country during the last century.
Their love of mushroom hunting should have transferred to me, but apparently it didn’t. Despite two past forays into mushroom hunting in Lithuania and Canada, my interest waned. That along with limited opportunities compounded this dilemma. There was a real possibility I would not follow in the footsteps of my Baltic forebears.