Last year, I read a rather fascinating read about a pioneering family that settled in the Mississippi Delta (in Mississippi – not Arkansas). Here is my blog post about that book – Trials of the Earth.
My grandmother grew up in the Delta as a sharecropper. After reading this book, we took my grandmother on a day trip so she could tell us stories of her childhood. Here is my blog post about that trip – Ode to Hazel Mae.
One place we visited but could not get too close to was the home where she was born. It was too “weedy” and thorny for us to trample through. We decided to come back in the winter when the threat of snakes was not an issue. Hence this post – Part 3: Homeward Bound.
There is irony in waiting until “winter” to return back to Mamaw’s home. It was somewhat a last minute decision to call her up and see if she wanted to ride out to Cascilla, Mississippi. It may have been December 27, but the temperature was 70 degrees! We waited to trample through the woods due to snakes but we did not prepare well for the thorny bushes! And not sure why we did not think about bringing the clippers with us but we managed. MT led the way stomping down thorns. Mom followed making sure Mamaw didn’t step in a hole. It took a few minutes to get to the home, but we finally made it.
As we were leaving, we found the largest thrones we had ever seen! We later found out it was some kind of wild lemon/orange tree (it seems to go by different names…I could care less…all I know is the thorns were HUGE!).
We finally decided to head back to the car, taking a different, “less thorny” route. Of course, adventuring in woods of Mississippi would not be a true walk if you didn’t come across an old TV. I think that was the first time the girls had seen a TV with a turn dial! 😆
A trip in the woods is also not complete unless you come across an antique work truck with a tree growing through the bumper. Honestly, I think finding this truck was the highlight of MT’s day, who loves watching shows like Gotham Garage with her dad. (photo credit to Mattie)
After we left, we stopped to visit Mamaw’s double first cousin. I know! That sounds weird, but two sisters married two brothers. While there, she told him that we visited her old home place. He then told her that she was wrong and was born at a place behind there. Later, Mamaw said his memory wasn’t great; her dad (my great-grandfather) had taken her to the house we visited 25 years ago and told her she was born there. So…that is the end of that story! 😀
While driving home, she told me to take the back way to Grenada Lake’s spillway. I have a ton of memories of us at the spillway – one in particular is of me and my sister rolling down the hill. The girls decided they had to try it!
If you have read any of my previous blogs, one regret I have is not talking to my other grandmother (my mom’s mom) who lived in Germany during WW2. I didn’t think about asking questions about her life and experiences during that time. I didn’t want to make that same mistake now. Too many times, we allow the “busyness” of our lives to keep us from doing what matters most. We think the “busyness” of sports and “stuff” is what matters the most but does it? I challenge you to talk to those whom you love about their lives – their stories. Write it down. Document it. Cherish it.
