Reunion

[Granny5]

My family reunion is this weekend and there will be lots of family there,
and a lot that will no longer be there, except in spirit. I miss my Papa everyday.

Reunion

Sometimes I miss the biscuits
And the chocolate gravy
And the bony hand that tried
To rub the mole off my cheek
The smell of shaving soap and Old Spice
With a little bourbon mixed in
Just under the breath.
I miss the dominoes and everyone
Sitting beneath the trees.
Sometimes singing
Sometimes quiet
But together non-the-less.
The lessons taught by example
Are still with us
Children are special
To be cared for
Fed well and taught the lord
Hard work is honorable
Be kind, be truthful,
Be thoughtful of your family
And you neighbor as well.
Fish fries, hush puppies, raw onions
Bring tears to my eyes
Because of the loneliness
For the greats and the grands
Who have gone to prepare
A different kind of feast
__________________

[PrinceMyshkin]

My family reunion is this weekend and there will be lots of family there,
and a lot that will no longer be there, except in spirit. I miss my Papa everyday.

Reunion

Sometimes I miss the biscuits
And the chocolate gravy
And the bony hand that tried
To rub the mole off my cheek
The smell of shaving soap and Old Spice
With a little bourbon mixed in
Just under the breath.
I miss the dominoes and everyone
Sitting beneath the trees.
Sometimes singing
Sometimes quiet
But together non-the-less.
The lessons taught by example
Are still with us
Children are special
To be cared for
Fed well and taught the lord
Hard work is honorable
Be kind, be truthful,
Be thoughtful of your family
And you neighbor as well.
Fish fries, hush puppies, raw onions
Bring tears to my eyes
Because of the loneliness
For the greats and the grands
Who have gone to prepare
A different kind of feast
__________________

As beautiful as this was all the way through, those final four lines just about started the flow of tears (manly ones, of course). It wasn't just the sentiment the modest, unassuming way it was put forward.

Thank you so much!

[ampoule]

This is fabulous! I am just full of envy everywhere tonight. Not a bad envy, not that I would ever want to take away the wonderful thing you have. I love 'the greats and the grands'! And chocolate gravy! My husband loved chocolate gravy! His mammy made it for him all the time.
Oh, I hope you have the best old time!! :)

[Granny5]

Thanks Prince and Amp. This will be the first year all of my grandbabies get to go. ( if MH doesn't change her mind.) It will be hot and sticky and we will eat way too much and have to hug folks we haven't seen in years and sing really stupid songs..but it's alway so great and so much fun.

[CdnReader]

A beautiful tribute, Granny. Have a fabulous huggy time. :)

[Poppy]

My family reunion is this weekend and there will be lots of family there,
and a lot that will no longer be there, except in spirit. I miss my Papa everyday.

Reunion

Sometimes I miss the biscuits
And the chocolate gravy
And the bony hand that tried
To rub the mole off my cheek
The smell of shaving soap and Old Spice
With a little bourbon mixed in
Just under the breath.
I miss the dominoes and everyone
Sitting beneath the trees.
Sometimes singing
Sometimes quiet
But together non-the-less.
The lessons taught by example
Are still with us
Children are special
To be cared for
Fed well and taught the lord
Hard work is honorable
Be kind, be truthful,
Be thoughtful of your family
And you neighbor as well.
Fish fries, hush puppies, raw onions
Bring tears to my eyes
Because of the loneliness
For the greats and the grands
Who have gone to prepare
A different kind of feast
__________________


This is so poignant and truthful. Of course I know the players. This is a close family and gatherings are a very important aspect of their relationships.
But tell them the truth, its Southern fried CATFISH. :)

[PrinceMyshkin]

This is so poignant and truthful. Of course I know the players. This is a close family and gatherings are a very important aspect of their relationships.
But tell them the truth, its Southern fried CATFISH. :)

Way to go! Now you've pretty well ensured that none of us Northerners will be tempted to crash the party!

[formality hater]

...wOw!

[Granny5]

Way to go! Now you've pretty well ensured that none of us Northerners will be tempted to crash the party!

Prince, if you've never been down South and had catfish, hush puppies, cole slaw, home grown tomatoes, and raw onions, you haven't lived!! If you had, you'd be living down here catching catfish and swatting mosquitoes.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Prince, if you've never been down South and had catfish, hush puppies, cole slaw, home grown tomatoes, and raw onions, you haven't lived!! If you had, you'd be living down here catching catfish and swatting mosquitoes.

Sounds too good to resist! And soon as I've had my fill of my own cabbage borscht, kashe varnishkes, potato pancakes, coleslaw (course I make my own!), grilled sweetbreads & karnatzel and chopped-liver with masses of deep-fried onions at Moishe's & corned-beef sandwiches with a side of varenikes at Snowdon Deli, I'll be there!

[Pendragon]

Capturing memories without a video or a camera is difficult and you just made it sound so sweetly simple that I could smell the food, and hear the click of dominos and chatter of voices. Need a banjo and guitar there somewhere and I'm home...

Pen

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l108/AbsalomKane/Smilies/Appaluse.gif

[Granny5]

There was always a guitar and singing. My Papa wrote poems that they would put them to music. I had about a dozen he had written for me that I carried in my purse, but my purse was stolen in Memphis back in the 70's and I lost them all.....it was like losing him all over again.

[ampoule]

I had about a dozen he had written for me that I carried in my purse, but my purse was stolen in Memphis back in the 70's and I lost them all.....it was like losing him all over again.

Oh my gosh! That's awful!
I'm so sorry that happened.

[Poppy]

& corned-beef sandwiches !

Now your talkin' :thumbs_up

But with a spicy mustard on rye and aged swiss too!!!!!!

[PrinceMyshkin]

Now your talkin' :thumbs_up

But with a spicy mustard on rye and aged swiss too!!!!!!

SWISS CHEESE with corned beef? What are you, like, one of these wild-eyed CHRISTIANS? It isn't even a question of the kosher laws here, it's a matter of Holy Esthetics! Anyway, I doubt they'd serve you at Snowdon Deli without a note from you Rabbi!

(Look, in all honesty, I'll admit to you now that I have had the occasional Reuben... but I had to wash the taste away afterwards with several smoked-meat sandwiches and maybe a liter of Black Cherry. Heavy! But look here, come up here with your old lady and I will buy you dinner at Schwartz's Main Hebrew where you get to sit at a trestle table with whoever happens to be there before you. Their half-sours and coleslaw will soon have you singing My Yiddishe Mammeh!)

[Poppy]

SWISS CHEESE with corned beef? What are you, like, one of these wild-eyed CHRISTIANS? It isn't even a question of the kosher laws here, it's a matter of Holy Esthetics! Anyway, I doubt they'd serve you at Snowdon Deli without a note from you Rabbi!

(Look, in all honesty, I'll admit to you now that I have had the occasional Reuben... but I had to wash the taste away afterwards with several smoked-meat sandwiches and maybe a liter of Black Cherry. Heavy! But look here, come up here with your old lady and I will buy you dinner at Schwartz's Main Hebrew where you get to sit at a trestle table with whoever happens to be there before you. Their half-sours and coleslaw will soon have you singing My Yiddishe Mammeh!)

:) :) :) :)
Well at least I didn't tell you to put thousand island dressing and saurkraut on it..
now lets fressen.....OY.

[Granny5]

SWISS CHEESE with corned beef? What are you, like, one of these wild-eyed CHRISTIANS? It isn't even a question of the kosher laws here, it's a matter of Holy Esthetics! Anyway, I doubt they'd serve you at Snowdon Deli without a note from you Rabbi!

(Look, in all honesty, I'll admit to you now that I have had the occasional Reuben... but I had to wash the taste away afterwards with several smoked-meat sandwiches and maybe a liter of Black Cherry. Heavy! But look here, come up here with your old lady and I will buy you dinner at Schwartz's Main Hebrew where you get to sit at a trestle table with whoever happens to be there before you. Their half-sours and coleslaw will soon have you singing My Yiddishe Mammeh!)

Old lady??? You want to meet Poppy's mother??

[firefangled]

Give him holy hell, Granny5!!!

[apples of gold]

Oh Granny! Can I come with? I yearn for that Southern hospitality!

My second husband was from Alabama. He introduced me to okra, hush puppies, white gravy, cornbread & biscuits ...

But the closest I came to sampling the real thing, other than his Mother's cooking, was a restaurant in Arizona called Pofolks.

Hot daämn! I want the real thing!



P.S. I forgot to mention the fried chicken. WCW's barrel fulls of fried chicken. The Mom-in-law could cook two large birds in one medium size fry pan lickety split. How the pieces she rested on the top managed to turn out as crisp as the ones cooking on the bottom is one of those mysteries that inspires who knows what!

[AuntShecky]

For an alternative take on the same theme, you might
enjoy "My Papa's Waltz" by the inimitable Theodore Roethke.