The Way It Was

The south is known for the unusual names of some of its quaint little towns ... Gourdneck,  Bald Knob, Weiner, Possum Grape, Hogeye ... all are in Arkansas, with those as just a beginning.
I remember when some friends of our family were on a well known game show and the host poked fun of the name, Weiner. He immediately began calling it Hot Dog Town USA.
If he thought Weiner was funny, he would probably have rolled in the floor to hear the names of some of the neighboring towns!!
We never thought anything about it. That's just how it was, how we were ... how I still am!!  The old saying "you can take a girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl" is very true!  I absolutely adore going barefoot, would give anything to know where a good patch of wild blackberries grew berries as big as a thumb, dusty and begging to be picked for a cobbler or pie or maybe a bit of that delicious blackberry preserves! Nothing in a supermarket comes close.
I am forever reading something about "going green", making your own cleaning supplies, cooking from scratch, etc. This is supposedly the new way.  Actually the new way is the old way which has come full circle, into its own again!  With eyes closed  I see my sweet little mama bringing her sliced apples to the back porch to protect them from the morning dew, slowing their drying process.  Those dried apples made the best fried apple pies you could imagine, with a crust so flaky it practically melted in your mouth and the sweetness of the apples with a hint of cinnamon make those with ingredients you find hard pressed even to pronounce, seem tasteless!
Make do or do without. That's how it was, how it should be.  Life was sweet.  We rarely saw a doctor as mama and my grandmas knew exactly what was best for every ailment.  I remember once when my brother and I ate a whole card of buttons, staples and all, you better believe my mama lost no time getting us to see old Dr. Hickman then.  It scared her to pieces.  Her mouth dropped open, her eyes widened, as round as saucers.  This was cause for alarm and sent her scurrying, preparing us for the trip to the doctor!!!

Treat others as you would like to be treated and, remember, in all you do be kind and be sweet!!