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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Good eats an' the beginning

Boy howdy, if'n ya wanna strike up a conversation, mention food. Seems like food is one of the fondest memories from our childhoods.....as per comments. Everbody remembers what they ate grow'n up. Biscuits an' gravy, cornbread an' beans.  Did ya know, I never eat a pinto bean until I move to south Texas back in 1964. Before that it was navy beans an' butter beans.....with raw onions, a splash on cider vinegar an' cornbread smothered with butter. A big ol' glass of cold milk to warsh it all down.

Speak'n of good eat'n, have ya ever eat a peanut butter an' onion sammich?  

It was WW II when I was on the farm, an' then for a few years after before my wonderful dad pick me up. *a little sarcasm in that statement*. Now how many dads would come home from the war in 1945 an' not pick up their kids from a orphan home (the farm) until bout 1949? But anyhows, that was just the beginning of a life of liv'n alone. Well, I wasn't really alone, I just didn't have me no parental guidance like most other kids my age.

I didn't really wanna touch on the subject of "bad times", but them times are also a part of my life. Times I would like to forget, but even at my age today, they pop up from time to time. Ya don't forgit shit like that.

I remember this day very well. The day I was picked up from "mom's" place in St Charles, Mo. I was placed in the back of a old pick'em up truck. In the front was my dad, his girlfriend (possibly wife) or what ever, an' some red headed, red faced, fully unaware of his surroundings, beer drink'n dude. This was the first time in my life that I ever tasted chaw bakkee (SP) (chewing tobacco). Dad an' the red face guy both spit that stuff out the front winders. Don't know if girlfriend/wife or what ever chew that stuff or not, but she weren't at all friendly either way.

It was fresh beer time....an' I gotta pee.....an' warsh this crap off'n my face, arms, an' brand spank'n new shirt. Have ya ever sit in the back of a pick up go'n a hunnert mile a hour down the highway an' try to dodge chaw bakkee juice? The three of 'em jump out the pick up laugh'n an' cut'n up. I'm ordered to remain in the back until we reach out destination......Dad's loving 3 room cottage an' a bath in Baden, Mo.....4 hours later.
This was the beginning.

Now bout good times. Good times take me back to the farm where my life was normal for the 40's. Pester the farm critters. Ride'n on the backs of new borned (a week or so old) cow puppies. Set'n out houses on fire. Run'n in the woods, climb'n trees....eat'n gooseberrys an' cow lick salt. Skeer'n hell out sleep'n cats. This is what normal kids done back then an' that is only scratch'n the surface. My first 9 years of life was wonderful years what will never be forgotten. A few whoop'ns here an' there, yelled at a bit, chased an' beat up by the older boys....yes, them was wonderful years.

So what does a farm house look like? We had a little liv'n room, a dining room, a kitchen with a wood burn'n stove, ice box an' this great big ol' table where we all ate. All 8 of us. One bedroom on the first floor. That's where I sleeped. Upstairs was one big room.....a attic with nuttin but beds an' a couple dressers. That's where the older boys sleeped. We took our weekly baths in a wash tub out on the back porch, or in the kitchen dur'n the winter time. One tub of water an' 6 dirty boys. I was always the first, so I was always the cleanest. Not that that lasted very long.

When I tell my kids an' grandkids bout eat'n desert off'n the bottoms of our plates, they say "WHAT?, you did what"?  Ya see, when ya live on a farm an' ya ain't got run'n water, 8 desert dishes is extra unnecessary work. It also served another purpose....to eat your entire supper or ya don't git no desert. We sopped up any juices with a slab of fresh out the oven backed bread. We licked our plates ya know. That's just the way ya do things on the farm.

We ate good on the farm. Meat bout onest or twiest a week, usually Sundays. God I loved fried chicken. Fried eggs in the morn'ns. Piles of pancakes with tons of fresh churned butter an' home built syrup. Some bacon on the side. Oatmeal by the bucket full. Biscuits an' gravy.....yum boy howdy. Big ol' glasses full if cold milk out the ice box (cold be'n bout 50 degs). Are ya hungry yet????

Ok, back to reality.....it's freak'n cold outside. Got down to bout 33 degs last night an' it was still in the 30's when I finally roll out of bed. I check the inside temp. It's 55 freak'n degs in here. I don't know bout anybody else, but 55 degs is freak'n cold. Ya see, I turn the two electric heaters way down at night. Ya don't need a bunch of heat when you're wrapped up in a bunch of blankets. I fire up the Mr Heater on 9,000 btu's an' in nuttin flat....my god, it's hot in here.

Had I remained in Georgia for the winter, there would be no blog post this morn'n. I would be froze slap to death right there in "yo mama's" yard. It was 3 degs there this morn'n. That folks is COLD. Seems this winter is a repeat of last winter in south Texas. Well, I guess you could say it a repeat for the entire country. My god, I see people brag'n bout be'n in the -20's an' -30's....wind chill that is. I don't do wind chill. I do the REAL temp thing. If'n it's 30 degs, it's 30 degs. Not some god awful minus something to make ya feel special. Think maybe I'll just leave it at that. Too many people get all piss off if'n I don't think like they do. Wind chill.....sheesh!!!

Get'n used to something ya don't like to do is hard. I been think'n bout this for a long time, but I ain't said much about it. With my old age.....don't go say'n nuttin, an' the health issues I have, I have slowed down to a crawl. That's something I never figgered would happen to me in my lifetime. I've always managed to find some kind mischief to get into, life threaten'n adventures, build'n stuff, get'n all excitis bout my life.....mak'n plans for tomorrow. In the last years time, most that stuff has come to a screech'n halt. I'm attempt'n to accept things as they are. A cold ass winter is of no help. But, I can say, my life is comfortable. I got a bed to sleep in, two very comfortable chairs, hot an' cold run'n water. A computer to keep me entertained. The "billy jeep" is sit'n out there just in case I want to go somewheres. Like a trip to Walmart....that's always excit'n. What would I like to change? Well hell, that's easy....take 20 years off my life an' give me the health of a teenager. That's just for starters.

Well shoot, yesterday I didn't do a thing.....nuttin. Got a few more dirty dishes, but shoot, the sink ain't full yet. Same ol' shit lay'n on the floor, but shoot, I ain't got no company com'n this way. Sides that, Sadie Mae don't give a crap either way. Dogs just walk around stuff ya know.....don't faze 'em a bit.

Ok, that's it for another excit'n day. See ya tomorrow.


7 comments:

  1. Even my own kids who are almost all in their 40's would never understand being poor. At Christmas I was telling the family that we never had our Christmas presents wrapped. I figured they just didn't know about pretty wrapping paper in those days, but I finally realized that most folks were too poor to waste money on paper. As I was talking about it Donald's mom said it was the same thing for them - no wrapping paper on the few presents they got.

    We ate navy beans in Ohio - never pintos. There isn't anything so good as ham and navy bean soup! Makes me hungry thinking about it, but it's not easy to make these days. For one thing there isn't enough fat to make the ham flavorful for soup, and finding a ham bone isn't easy either. Then when it comes down to it, I'm too old and tired to look for one!

    Take 20 years off your age and give you the health of a teenager??? Hell man, you'd get yourself in trouble in no time! (Take 20 off my age and the health of a teenager, I'd do drinkin' and dancin' all night - probably get myself in trouble too.)

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    1. Ha, just think'n here.....if'n you an' me was to get out there on the dance floor, what would it look like? I know I ain't gonna be do'n none that "down an' dirty" danc'n stuff. Been so long since I do the bop, that ain't gonna happen neither. Maybe a Texas two step or one the "hold yer partner close", you know, hold'n each other up, slow danc's would be more to our like'n. Anything fast, you're all by yerself.

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    2. Glad we got that settled. I like the "hold yer partner close" (hold'n each other up). We'd have to get someone to take pictures or no one would believe it!

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  2. I had a great child hood. We were not rich but we always had enough to eat. I don't ever remember going to bed hungry. I was an only child, so you guessed it, I was spoiled.

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  3. Gotta love them memories of time gone by, I know we livin the good times now. Cold don't much like that either gonna freeze to death real soon!

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  4. I figure my folks did a good job to keep us fed and clothes on our backs. I mostly only remember the good times, 'cause the bad times I brought on myself for the most part.

    One good thing about getting older is that I remember the good times more than the bad.

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  5. We sure didn't stay in the house all day, we were outside on the creek, somewhere, all year. Well, i just remembered all of us, mom and dad, the neighbor kids, around our big table playing jacks!!! hahahaha dad taught us poker, played with matches., dad taught us just about all the outside games too, washers, horseshoes, marbles,,, gosh so many cant put em all here.
    One front after the other gonna keep us cold way on into next week.

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