We use to sit on the front porch in the evenings eating ice cream as we'd talk about going on's in the family or neighborhood. I don't know if everything said was true or not but they sure were interesting. Some were scarey, some funny and some just down right dumb. Some were unbelievable, especially the way my parents and grandparents use to live, but how many of us would watch TV westerns and see those women with the long dresses and say "I'd wish I'd lived back then".

    We'd catch up with the neighborhood news, but I think they call it gossip nowadays, but it was good clean gossip. We'd talk about the funny things Grandma or Grandpa did and sit back and laugh our hearts to content. Not that we were making fun of them but because each one had such an unique and loving personality.

    Back then thats what we called having a good time. Going to the store and buying a honey bun and a bottle of coke was good for our soul. Never heard of Taco Bell back then and believe me that was that long ago. We just didn't have the money for those luxuries. Going for a drive in the country and stopping for an ice cream cone to eat along the way was like being in heaven itself. I use to get orange pineapple all the time. I miss those times and I savor every little moment of those treasure.Here are some things I remember, to share with you. I'm sure when you read these you will start remember some of your own.

Front Porch Gossip

    Took Grandma to the park one day so she could get some fresh air and get out of the house for awhile. Just a change of scenery. It was hot outside. She decided she wasn't going without her sweater and head scarf. So off we went to the park, took a chair for Grandma to sit in. Well, there she sit looking down, sweater pulled around her tight with her head scarf on. Afraid she'd catch cold. Now I know this isn't funny but this was a Kodak moment and everytime I remember it makes me smile. I loved my Grandma. Oh let me tell you this, it was 70 degrees outside.

    Our Sunday drives sometimes included going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. How I loved smelling the burning of wood and coal burning in her cookstove. Grandpa would sit around the pot belly stove in the living room as Grandma and Mommy would cook. He'd open the door of the pot belly stove and sit there and chew tobacco and spit the juice in the stove. I'd sit and watch with amazement how that tobacco juice made it in there everytime.

    Grandma made the best food. Everything from scratch just like Mommy did. She had the best biscuits always brown and crisp on the bottom. Never knew her secret until Mom told me one day. She'd take an iron skillet put grease in the bottom and get it hot. Then she'd but her biscuit dough in it and put it in the oven. Gosh those biscuits were so good.

    There were nine of us kids. Thank goodness we weren't all kids all the same time*L*. Mom told me one night her and Daddy loaded the kids up in the station wagon (I wasn't born yet)and was going to the grocery store. They lived out in the country and had a lot of winding roads. They started down this steep hill and it was well curvy when all of a sudden something slammed onto the roof of the car. Mom said only thing they could see was big black hairy claws holding onto the windshield. She said Daddy kept swerving the car until he heard a thud and knew whatever that thing was, had fallen off the station wagon. I asked Daddy about this years later and he didn't know anything about it.*L* But it was a good story my mother told.

    When my mother was growing up, they were poor. They didn't wear shoes except for when they went to school or church. They only got shoes once a year. So if they wore them out they had to do without until the next year. There were times Grandpa had to go fetch firewood outside. He'd have to go out in the snow barefooted cause he didn't have any shoes.

    Mom use to make her own souse meat. She was making it one day and decided to throw the hogs head out side. I swear I think every dog in the neighborhood was out there within 5 minutes fighting over that head. They were yelping and carrying on awlful. You'd think one threw a T-bone steak out there. The noise got so bad Mommy had to go chase them off and get that hog's head and bury it. Don't know if the dogs ever came back hunting for it or not but I bet cha they found it.*L*

    Me and Mom use to go blackberry picking out in the hills. She always told me not to eat any or I wouldn't get any blackberry dumplings. I always snuck a few anyways.

    Mom use to go pick wild creasy greens and those things would stink the house up for days. But they sure were good.

    My cousin that lived next door to us was scared of worms. I use to pick them up and go scare her with them. She'd run in the house screaming bloody murder and lock the screen door so I couldn't get in.

    One time we lived in a duplex. My cousins lived in the other half. We had a hole in the closet where we good talk to each other at night or if we couldn't go outside. We punched that hole right in our closets, went through ours right into theirs.*L* We'd even stick each other notes through it if the other wasn't home.

     

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