Folksy good cheer here maryann. A good way of capturing and preserving a
little family and local culture. I enjoy the feeling of idiom (?) that this
kind of piece conjures up.

The interspersing works well for this purpose, I think.

Cheers,

Frank

The Tales of Faust poetry page can be found at:
http://www.hotkey.net.au/~flp/F_index.htm



>
>Applesauce Weekend
>
>We each hold our unappointed positions year
>after year around the golden kitchen. Grampy,
>Dad and John carry baskets of fresh apples picked
>yesterday at Jannsen's. Mom and me take our seats,
>favorite knives in hand, begin to peel long skin-curls
>into brown bags - an afternoon treat for the deer.
>
>      Mary, have you heard how Aunt Ruth is making out?
>      Well, she called a few days ago, says she has to
>      make sure they keep the doors locked because Anna Mae
>      tries to go home! Oh my, God Bless her. Yes, Ruth says
>      she came out of the bathroom and found the front door
>      wide open and Ma walking herself down the street!
>
>Granny measures sugar, cinnamon, a touch of
>nutmeg, puts aside.`Takes up her big iron pot,
>places apples in with half a cup of water,
>a couple tablespoons sugar, cover loose, wait.
>The men bring up boxes of jars from the cellar.
>Mom rinses, I dry, Granny lines them up with lids.
>
>      What did she do? Well, she went after her and said,
>      Where are you going? And Ma said, she had to go
>      home. Her mother told her, You be home in time for
>      dinner; they were having pork chops the way Big Yon
>      likes, baked in the beans! Oh Mary, how sad. Ruth says,
>      it's not too bad. Ma mostly has good memories.
>
>Every so often someone goes over, inhales
>deeply and gives the steamy pot a big ol' stir.
>Wooden spoon smooshes fragrant hot chunks of autumn
>apples. Add a spoon or two of sugar mixture.
>I grind brown coffee beans for an afternoon pot
>before dinner. Leftover fried mashed potatoes.
>
>      So, she just plays along. She says sometimes Ma thinks
>      that she's her kid sister, Bethie Lynn, and they talk
>      like they were girls gossiping before bed at night.
>      Ruth says she's learned a lot about Ma's childhood,
>      things she would never have known otherwise. Small things.
>      Ruth says she found out where Ma put the wedding vase!
>
>Dad, turn that heat down a little, will you? I think
>the sauce is ready. Keep some aside for later,
>to have with the potato pancakes. Imagine,
>isn't that funny? After all these years! She said
>Ma wrapped it in newspaper and put it upstairs
>in a box with Frank and Libbie's whistle dishes.
>
>~*~
>
>Cheerwell, Mary :O)
>
>=====
>Good Cheer & Be Well,
>Maryann Hazen-Stearns
>"Under The Limbo Stick"
>http://www.geocities.com/Faerhart/
>also available at these locations:
>http://www.vivisphere.com  http://www.amazon.com
>
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