Just Your Standard Bull

It’s hard for me to believe but here we are again—another Thanksgiving weekend is upon us.  And, in spite of the dry weather we have experienced this year, I still have many things to be thankful for.  The continued good health of family and friends is always high on my list. We all too often take our health for granted. We should be mindful that if we have our health, we are indeed fortunate.

I am also very grateful for my Grandmother Idella Sturgess, who recently passed away at the age of 94. I am grateful for her living a long, healthy and fruitful life. I am truly thankful for the time I spent with her in my lifetime. Yes, I will always wish that I had taken the time to spend more time with her, but I will always have very fond memories of my time with her.  Looking back, I cannot remember one meal I ever had that wasn’t spectacular. Until very late in life, she always had a garden full of green beans, black-eyed peas, okra, the list goes on. She had a large selection of Mason jars and put them to very good use! In the old days, canning was a necessity. As time went on, quality canned goods from Grandma’s kitchen became a treasure—a symbol of what is great about rural America.

And you never left Grandma’s house empty handed. It wasn’t just canned goods and the like. One of my most cherished possessions is a quilt she made me out of old blue jeans. It has made it on quite a few family outings and hunting trips. The blue jean blanket has become a family heirloom—something that we will pass on to our daughter someday, and then on to her children.

One of my fondest memories as a kid was going there in the winter months and making a batch of pull candy! Other folks called it taffy but to us it was just a whole lot of fun to get together and whip up a batch of pull candy. Of course, the most frustrating thing was you really weren’t supposed to eat it for a few weeks. After a batch was made, we would head out to the garage where it was cold and start pulling and folding—using a hay hook that was mounted on the wall—until the batch cooled and you could no longer pull it. You then laid it out on wax paper, sprinkled it with powdered sugar. And let it set a while longer until it would break apart into small pieces. The real trick was to let it mellow and soften for a few weeks. It would literally melt in your mouth then.

Another fond memory I have occurred just a year ago. If you have followed this column for any length of time, you will recall that I recently built a house. Now Grandma was always one that took a great deal of pride in all of our accomplishments, large or small. And seeing this house was something she would not be denied. Tulia, Texas is a long ways from San Antonio. But as I said, when she set her mind that she was going to do something, she would always find a way to get it done. She made the trip with my aunt Lanette last October. It meant a great deal to me that she was able to make the trip because I knew that it meant a great deal to her.

To me, this is what Thanksgiving is all about. It is a time to get together with family and friends and be thankful and remember those who have passed through our lives—leaving us with memories we will always treasure. Sure, the food is great. The football games are good. But the memories are really what it is all about.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!