Published: December 30, 2007 09:46 pm            

DAY: Do you remember?

Thoughts of stitches, biscuits and love

I was visiting with my brother in the hospital the other day, and a friend came up to me and wondered how far back I could remember in my life.

I told him that I still could remember when I was 4-years-old and had fallen on a bottle, cutting my wrist so bad it needed stitches. I can still remember Dr. Ramey having me lay on the couch while he sewed me up.

And there was a time when I was sucking on a piece of ice and swallowed it, and it caught in my throat, and the mailman helped my mother get it out. I was lucky that I hadn’t choked to death.

I can remember President Roosevelt telling us on the radio that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, and how it made Dad real mad. Being so young and finding love from the parents, we didn’t really realize the impact this act of violence would cause.

I remember my first day in Willard School. My teacher was Mrs. Black, and she was tall and pretty. Lee Walters was the principal and, to this day, I know that he played a big part in my growing up.

I can remember that in the fifth grade I was allowed to be a patrol officer, and our job was to help the other kids get to and from school safely by stopping traffic so the kids could cross the street. Then going to Central Junior High, and walking 13 blocks to school and back twice a day.

We went home for our lunch, and the pretty lady we knew as our mom would have some great food on the stove ready as soon as we got there. Boy, she sure was a great cook, and she always knew what each of us could eat and get the best from it.

I was always getting sick when chicken was cooked in our house, and she knew how to keep that smell from me. Other foods such as almost any meat would make me vomit, and to this day, I am as close to a vegetarian as there could be. Mom knew what foods I like, and I was fed well.

Anyway, the other kids would divide up my share with smiles on their faces and a full belly. Our family was like that when we were young, as our mother took good care of us, and she spread her love equally among us.

I remember when Mom would send us to the bakery, where you could get second-day bread. Man, we couldn’t tell any difference, because we were bread lovers. Of course, when Mom would make soda biscuits, we took them over the bread. Boy, she made the best biscuits, and when you put the Oleo margarine on them, it would run right down your chin. They were so good.

Biscuits and gravy was big at our house, as Mom made the biscuits and Dad made the gravy. I don’t remember Dad ever doing any other cooking except for the gravy. Mom was too good of a cook for Dad to take that chore from her. Needless to say, Dad was always happy with a full belly of food made by the lady he loved very much.

Dad was the gardener of the family, and he found peace placing things in the ground to grow and to be eaten later. To this day, I still put out a garden, and I too find peace doing it. All in all, the things we saw and the things we learned from our mother and father prepared us for the time when each of us would find the love of our lives and make a home together, filled with love and with thanks to both of them.

I remember the morning I had to go to tell Mom and Dad that our older brother, Ernest, had passed away from cancer. Mom opened the door, and took one look at me and said, “Ernest is dead, isn’t he?” I nodded my head and walked in to let Dad know, but he had already heard Mom, and so my task was a little easier to do.

I sure miss them both. See you next week.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day is a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune.

        

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