More Pot Pourri

Border print skirts became fashionable when I was in high school. A border print is fabric that has a pattern around the bottom of the skirt. Mom made me one with a border print of a piano keyboard. I don't remember the skirt color except for the piano keyboard - black and white, of course. I really liked it.

My favorite shoes were a pair of white buck oxfords. They had a sort of red rubber sole. I had these when I was a freshman in college. I was home on vacation when Mom told me I should go outside and wring a chicken's neck - so she could cook it. There was no way I could do this! So she came out and wrong the chicken's neck - that darned thing bled all over my white bucks! Boy, was I upset! Those shoes were never the same.

I was never very tall - about 5'4" and weighed 100 pounds when I was in high school. I think probably I was conceited about my tiny waist! My mother always said she was 5'2" but I'd almost bet she was just about 5'!

You have probably heard people talk about delayed gratification. If you haven't heard of it, it simply means delaying buying something one wants until that person can pay for it. I learned that when I was pretty young. Mom made this great chocolate cake with brown sugar frosting (yum!!). I always ate the cake part first, leaving maybe half an inch of cake with the frosting. I saved the best for last! Then I ate the frosting with just a little bit of cake! Growing up in the 40s and 50s, people didn't buy things they couldn't afford. They took out a loan to buy a house and seldom charged things.

More about Mom

My Mama was, sometimes, a funny lady. One time when my kids were little we were visiting her from Iowa. It was summertime and the windows were open to get some air circulating.

We had gone to bed early. There was a yappy little black dog on the block. That dog was outside yapping and keeping us awake. Mama grabbed her duster (robe) and the broom and headed outside. It was so funny to see this little, plump lady in her robe and her pink hairnet chasing that little dog down the sidewalk with the broom! She didn't catch the dog but the dog did go home - and also shut up!

An interesting thing happened at Mama's funeral. There was a dog outside barking. It reminded me of Mama chasing that yappy little black dog. It felt like my Mama was saying, "Remember?"

I think my family was/is filled with people who were sure they were right about things - any thing. Mama would always say, "I'll bet you a $500 dollar bill!" No one ever collected when he or she was correct. However, betting that $500 dollar bill has continued through two more generations of ladies - and we don't pay off, either!

Our Family Cars

I don't remember all the cars my family had but I do remember some of them. The first one I remember was a 4-door Chevy (year unknown). Then we had a 4-door Plymouth with a push button starter. I think it may have been black. It is probably the first car I was able to drive. I remember a picture of me sitting in the driver's seat. The last car that Mother had while I still lived at home was a 1951 black 4-door Ford with a big sunvisor - this sunvisor made it look like the car was wearing a visor like the ones we see in pictures of the old-time gamblers! I drove this car a lot!

Mom and I left one early morning to drive about 120 miles to Hutchison to find a prom dress for Senior Prom. I was driving and hit a patch of black ice. The car spun 180 degrees, took out the mile marker with the passenger side front quarter panel, and set the car down in the ditch facing the way we came! Scared the heck out of me! Mom said I was white as a sheet. Mom calmly told me to move over. She got in and, with the help from a man who stopped, drove us out of the ditch and straight on home! No more shopping that day (and it was a school day, too!)

I don't know how long it was before we made the trip to Hutchinson to buy the prom dress - but when we did go, there was no ice on the highway!