Yolie: Food Rules!

“Do you like to play cahrds, Lora?” sharp-witted Grandma R. asks me with a twinkle in her eye.

I think the mischievous twinkle originated with Frances (also known as Grandma R.), by the way.

Craig, Frances and Fred

“Yes,” I respond not realizing she’s referring to poker which I’ve never played in my life.

“They play penny poker,” Craig informs me.

“What’s penny poker?” I ask.

“Well…” and he launches into a long explanation of some of the myriad of variations his grandparents (i.e. card sharks) play amongst themselves and the neighbors…with nothing higher than a penny.

The poker variations include such names as ‘Baseball’,’5 & 10s’, ‘Spit in the Pot’ and ‘One-Eyed Jacks are Wild.’

Unbelievable.

We sit down and I try to play, but…I can’t keep all the twists and turns straight, so…in the end, they good-naturedly agree to play a round of spades with me. They’ve never played it before, but once they realize it’s very similar to hearts they’re off…

I can play spades with my eyes closed, so my mind begins to wander back to the day before.

Yesterday evening, we sat down to a huge family meal with Craig’s Dad, Al, and the rest of the grandparents.

Al was soon flying back to Texas. He had driven up a car with Craig, so Craig would have its use over the summer.

Well…to get back on track…I'd never seen a meal like this one.

The table was groaning under the weight.

It was a real Italian meal.

The kind you only dream about.

There was an enormous bowl of pasta (they call it macaroni unless it’s spaghetti) with the best meat balls you’ve ever tasted on the side.

There were chicken cutlets.

There was homemade sausage.

There was an extra bowl of ‘gravy’ (I call it spaghetti sauce).

There were stuffed mushrooms.

There was bread.

There was salad.

There might have been something eggplant….I’m sure I’m leaving stuff out, but, suffice it to say, it was an astonishing sight.

To this point, I thought we knew hospitality in the south (and we do)…but this was hospitality on a scale I’d never seen or envisioned. I mean…THREE MEATS!

You see…we had already had appetizers, and multiple desserts were still to come.

It was mind-boggling.

Then I began to discover the mystery and ritual.

I wasn’t just sitting down with a welcoming family (who were hiding their sizing up incredibly well), but I was sitting down with one which when they did gather for this sort of meal…did things in a certain manner.

There were unwritten rules!

And Craig, for all his good-guy ways, didn’t think to fill me in beforehand.

So...because of the size of the pasta bowl Frances is serving us as we pass her our plates, and (as the guest) my plate is the first one up.

It was fairly quiet (I would later discover this was a rarity) as she began putting pasta on my plate…a little smile on her lips.

And to give you a little background, I was not large at all but had a good appetite, could put away the pasta, and I was hungry.

So, at first, I wasn’t too alarmed when the pasta started piling up. A small mountain would be
just fine with me.

But, as she served my plate, her smile grew bigger and bigger (it was flirting with smirk status), and the pasta started growing to alarming proportions. We weren’t talking Enchanted Rock…it was starting to look like Mt. McKinley.

“Lora, you sure can eat a lot, can’t you?” Yolie commented in surprise. Her voice sounded
unnaturally loud in the quiet room.

Craig, Yolie and Phil

I quickly cut my eyes to Craig; he had a helpless expression on his face, but Al saved the day.

“It’s okay, Lora. You have to say ‘when.’ Craig, didn’t you tell her?” Al chastised his son with a
roll of his eyes.

Craig meekly admitted he hadn’t.

“Here,” Al said and continued, “Craig will take that plate.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Al’s now my hero.

Luckily for me, the rest of the dishes were passed from place to place, so saying ‘when’ wasn’t an issue…and once I’d gotten my Enchanted Rock-size pasta serving, I started feeling a little more comfortable.

Then I noticed something a bit strange.

The salad was sitting untouched and lonely at the side of the table.

To be continued…

Comments

[Laura]

Thanks for commenting, Robin! You would have loved the wonderful food. Oh, the tastes and the smells...you're absolutely right. Hope we can get together soon, Sunshine! :)

[Robin]

I can smell the pasta! Such good decriptions. My favorite is the part about saying "when!" to mean done. So funny!

[Laura]

Thanks, Super Bluebonnet! Yes...lots of love. :)

[Super Bluebonnet]

A wonderful story told with love -- very good!

[Laura]

Thanks, Marie! Aren't the pictures great? I'm so glad I was finally able to upload them.

[Marie]

The pictures are so great!! Had another happy laugh after reading about the grandparents again today. The way you worded the blog was very funny!!!

[Super]

I haven't read the blog yet, but wow! I love the photos! How precious to have those! (I'll come back and give the blog entry my full attention later.)

[Laura]

Thanks, Marie! Yes, your mother really loved to make people happy with her food. She was an incredible cook. Looking back at it, I almost wish I had at least tried to scale Mt. Mckinley. It would have made her day. :)

[Marie]

Great memories of lots of laughter and happiness, although a little sad to think about my mother. Her meals which gave her great joy and her smiles. Can't wait to read the next installment. You do such a great job with your writing!!! Marie

P.S. Thank you for the lovely birthday wish.