Patricia Moore-Pastides is the first lady of the University of South Carolina and an adjunct faculty member in the university’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, where she teaches the course “Healthy Mediterranean Cooking.” Moore-Pastides holds a master of public health degree from Yale University and has served as a director and planner for several health-care organizations. She promotes health and wellness throughout the various USC campuses and the region.

By Margaret Evans, Editor

I tend to be an accidental gardener. If anything grows in my yard, it’s by pure serendipity. Somebody planted azaleas and camellias decades ago . . . Wisteria appears magically every year . . . A jack-o-lantern carved out back one fall becomes a small pumpkin patch the next summer . . . That sort of thing.

You’re likely familiar with the quote: “Music has charms to soothe a savage beast.” Shakespeare, right? Wrong! Fellow English poet and playwright William Congreve actually said that. But no matter, for nothing has changed in the ensuing years. There’s still no shortage of beasts to soothe, be they real or imagined. Though your chances of facing a fire-breathing dragon are slim, thank goodness, if a situation or emotion feels real, it’s definitely in the “beast” category. And music can be your knight in shining armor.

Not to my Taste!

Dear Aunt Bossy,

            My husband gets upset with me because I don’t like to try new foods and won’t eat many of the dishes he loves. He loves liver, escargot, caviar, pate, and even kidneys and brains. No way will I let those things near my mouth.