Memories of Days Past

In the Spring
Before electric and gas furnace time
We had to clean away the coal dust grime
The cleaner came in a can and took a strong arm
A pink gummy substance that worked like a charm
The room looked and smelled so nice
Ceilings above the stove might need to be done twice

My Mother's Apron
My mother always wore an apron
I don't even own one
She wore her nicest one to church on Wednesday
Ladies Aid cooked and quilted the whole day
They had Penny Suppers on Saturday night
The food and the fellowship were both a delight
My mother kept her egg money in her apron pocket
If the Jewell Tea man had something she liked she could buy it
When any of the five grandchildren came
She took off her apron and played their favorite game

The Forties
In the forties
We were in our thirties
We always drove a Ford sedan
Hardly anyone owned a van
More than three children would have been a little crowded
And besides a package of gum now comes out evenly divided

Clean Floors
My mother would clean and wash her linoleum
Then spread newspapers which I thought was dumb
In a few days the papers would disappear and we could relax
Until time for another clean and wax

Hard Times
When Grandpa got his education
There was no bus for transportation
The distance from his home to school however
Gets longer and longer as he gets older

When we got married there was a depression
Endless source of conversation
Eating out was never an option by any means
Unless you meant hot dogs and pork and beans

Genevieve
I remember Genevieve
She was always so nice to me
She was the best homemaker I ever knew
She kept her furniture all looking brand new
My daughter watched her move all the furniture away from the wall
Then said "My mother would never do that at all"
She read her Bible every day
Attended church every Sunday
Once she saw a snake in the yard
Ran upstairs and shut the doors hard
She had a keen sense of humor
All my jokes were funny to her

What I Miss
I miss being called Miss Wood about twenty or thirty times a day
Or you look pretty one of them might say
That made me feel younger
As I was actually getting older and older

The Substitute
Sometimes in my dreams I see
A class of children smiling at me
They wonder what I'm doing there
Sitting in their teacher's chair
Most of them are ready to do whatever I say
For me it may be a very long day
The class clown has started to be funny
With his great impression of Bugs Bunny
A girl came late with puffy red eyes
I wish I had time to sympathize
A boy asks to be excused
Why is everyone so amused
Is he the one who just got back
I must try to keep much better track
I took a peek at The Lesson Plan
I must hurry as fast as I can
When I woke up I was about to scream
This was becoming a nightmare not a dream

My Mother

My mother thought I was very pretty
          I wasn't
She thought I'd be extra smart
          I'm not
She gave me courage to try new things
          I have
She thought my husband was a saint
          He ain't
She thought each grandchild a prodigy
          Not so far
But isn't that what mothers are for?

Chicken Tale

Back in the twenties a long time ago
My mother taught us what we needed to know
She said we'd have fried chicken for supper
She would need us to help her
She shooed the chickens all into a corner
My sister took one side and I took the other
Those birds seem to know this was a serious matter
They all started squawking and making a clatter
They flapped their wings and raised a dust
The whole chicken pen began to combust
Some even tried to climb the fence
Which one we were after aroused their suspense
We finally caught just the one she wanted
Our lesson on dressing a chicken started
She wrung its neck and its head dropped off
That headless chicken flopped and flopped
We started to run but it suddenly stopped
Then she dipped that chick in hot boiling water
We stood by and watched while she plucked each feather
She did it quickly before they would cool
Singe the pin-feathers was her next rule
The way she did that was so amazing
A rolled up newspaper she set blazing
She held that chicken by its feet to the torch
What a smell that was on our back porch
Get a grip--- this description gets more graphic
My sister and I were about to panic
She scrubbed and scrubbed that naked bird
This may be like something you've never heard
She cut off the feet, bottom and neck
Whacked off thighs and legs
Reached inside took out what was left
Picked out the liver, gizzard and heart
The lining in that gizzard had to be pulled apart
Next she cut down on each side of the breast
Pulled it back hard until it came out in one piece
Cut out the pulleybone in just one whack
Cleaned all the blood out of the back
Then she dipped each piece in seasoned flour
Dropped them in a hot sizzling skillet of lard
We were now ready to forget the mess
Grab for the pulleybone ---- do the good luck test.