One day I found Essene Natural Foods, one of the few health stores around. As it turned out my girlfriend from high school was the cashier. She invited me to come to this "study house" where she was living. I went, the fellow who greeted me offered me a tea with soy sauce. The kitchen had an earthy smell that I loved and just wanted to indulge in. That was my introduction to Macrobiotics. Denny Waxman was running this house and needed a breakfast cook, so I volunteered. While I was there, a group of Japanese Macrobiotic teachers came to offer a teaching program. Cornellia Aihara gave a cooking class and prepared a fully balanced Macrobiotic meal. It was so memorable the feeling I had from the food she made, I felt that this is the food I have always been looking for. I went to Michio Kushi's lecture and was so impressed by what he had to say, especially about predictions of future generations. I also was able to take a week-long class with Shizuko Yamamoto on Shiatzu. She was amazing the stories she told of her own experiences and the effects of her foot massage only added to my intense awakening. This was my beginning, it all made so much sense. I manage to purchase the two main books by Georges Ohsawa, The Book of Judgment and Zen Macrobiotics. It was very difficult back then to eat the way they were teaching because it was very salty and the resources for ingredients were limited. There was only Hatcho miso, too strong for us young Americans, who were used to a meat-based diet with soda and lots of sugar foods, a huge leap and worth the plunge.