the family stone.
My family owns a couple hundred acres in the country outside of Memphis. We had owned several hundred, but with time and taxes we have sold quite a bit of it off. We've been there over a hundred years, and it's just natural for us all to congregate there I suppose.
Well it used to be the country.
We used to make a big deal out of going to town, it was about a thirty mile drive to the nearest grocery store and we'd only go every couple weeks or so. You might would have thought a caravan of Gypsies had come along, there'd be my Uncle Lew and Aunt Cheryl with my cousins Cliff, Ricky, Daniel and David (the twins), and Matthew who was just a baby then. Then there was my Father and Mother, myself and my brother, my Great Grandma (Mom), my Grandma, my Great Uncle,(Uncle)and usually my Great Aunt Carolyn and her husband, Uncle Bob. My Uncle David and his wife, my Aunt Anita, and my cousins Charlie and Elizabeth (also just a baby). Aunt Cheryl's Mother and Father would come along oftentimes and other Uncles and their girlfriends might tag along as well.
Now for the middle-aged menfolk I don't suppose it was such a big deal to go to town, after all, they worked in the big city, most of them on the Police Department, but for the rest of us it was something let me tell you! All of my cousins and myself would pile into the back of the pick-up trucks, (go to jail for that nowadays) and we'd whoop and holler and carry on all the way to town. Usually we'd have us a big sack of walnuts for sign-chunkin' and that'd add extra entertainment although it would seem to irritate anybody too close behind us.
When we'd get to town, all us young-uns would immediately go exploring. We might would spend a while checking out the stores, much to the consternation of the shopkeepers I'm sure, but our real interest was in what was behind them and the surrounding areas. Time has eased the memories to the recesses of my mind of what all we found so fascinating. I suppose that it just doesn't matter how mundane things are today, with youth everything is fresh and exciting.
While the grown-ups would shop the Woolworth's, the Sears Outlet Store, the Quality Stamp Store and finally the Big Star Grocery Store, we would wander, our country senses sampling the atmosphere of all we knew of the big city. Somehow we always knew when it was time to head back, we always were at the Big Star doors in time to load up the groceries. I think there must have been some sort of unseen communication at work, kinda like how they always knew when we were up to something.
I miss those days. None of us had locked doors. We would just drop in, usually stay for dinner and us kids would spend the nights at each others houses or out in the barns or woods, no plans needed to be made, we just did it. Breakfast would be at one of our Grandmother's. My Great Grandmother was the person along with my Great Uncle Lansing that actually raised me. She made the finest biscuits and gravy the world will ever see. I really miss her.
Well it used to be the country.
We used to make a big deal out of going to town, it was about a thirty mile drive to the nearest grocery store and we'd only go every couple weeks or so. You might would have thought a caravan of Gypsies had come along, there'd be my Uncle Lew and Aunt Cheryl with my cousins Cliff, Ricky, Daniel and David (the twins), and Matthew who was just a baby then. Then there was my Father and Mother, myself and my brother, my Great Grandma (Mom), my Grandma, my Great Uncle,(Uncle)and usually my Great Aunt Carolyn and her husband, Uncle Bob. My Uncle David and his wife, my Aunt Anita, and my cousins Charlie and Elizabeth (also just a baby). Aunt Cheryl's Mother and Father would come along oftentimes and other Uncles and their girlfriends might tag along as well.
Now for the middle-aged menfolk I don't suppose it was such a big deal to go to town, after all, they worked in the big city, most of them on the Police Department, but for the rest of us it was something let me tell you! All of my cousins and myself would pile into the back of the pick-up trucks, (go to jail for that nowadays) and we'd whoop and holler and carry on all the way to town. Usually we'd have us a big sack of walnuts for sign-chunkin' and that'd add extra entertainment although it would seem to irritate anybody too close behind us.
When we'd get to town, all us young-uns would immediately go exploring. We might would spend a while checking out the stores, much to the consternation of the shopkeepers I'm sure, but our real interest was in what was behind them and the surrounding areas. Time has eased the memories to the recesses of my mind of what all we found so fascinating. I suppose that it just doesn't matter how mundane things are today, with youth everything is fresh and exciting.
While the grown-ups would shop the Woolworth's, the Sears Outlet Store, the Quality Stamp Store and finally the Big Star Grocery Store, we would wander, our country senses sampling the atmosphere of all we knew of the big city. Somehow we always knew when it was time to head back, we always were at the Big Star doors in time to load up the groceries. I think there must have been some sort of unseen communication at work, kinda like how they always knew when we were up to something.
I miss those days. None of us had locked doors. We would just drop in, usually stay for dinner and us kids would spend the nights at each others houses or out in the barns or woods, no plans needed to be made, we just did it. Breakfast would be at one of our Grandmother's. My Great Grandmother was the person along with my Great Uncle Lansing that actually raised me. She made the finest biscuits and gravy the world will ever see. I really miss her.
posted by PK at 10:51 PM
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