OPINION? EVERYBODY HAS ONE When 'her people' come to visit

With a cloud of dust and a hearty, “Here we come,” a van load of her people came roaring down the road. Dust was flying and the old van was rattling so loud I thought we were having a tsunami! I was working on the hydraulic chute and banged my head as I stood up, shocked at the noise. Seeing who was coming almost hurt more!

My sainted mother always taught me to behave and mind my manners - and if I thought I didn’t like something or someone, to find something about them to like, even if it was the color of their eyes. Sometimes that is a stretch.

My close relative is related to the bunch, or herd, by her Daddy’s sister. He was one of the sewing machine salesmen whose business it is to travel around three states and visit ladies. He left his brood at home to manage without much administration in his absences. The lady, I use that term loosely, who was the mother of the brood was beautiful and blond and was a world-class visitor, but never left town. Theoffspring grew up but were not raised. That is what I saw coming down the road with their offspring in tow and two dogs.

I wiped my hands and went to welcome them with my close relative and departed for the grocery store immediately after the howdys were said. I stopped at the shop and told the two male offspring they could leave by the west side of the place if they so desired or come by and say hello to their cousins.

I bought a side of bacon, ten pounds of flour and sugar, twenty pounds of spuds, four gallons of milk, oranges, apples and bananas. I stopped at the home of the neighbor who sells fresh eggs and got six dozen. When I told her who was at the house she put in another dozen.

I backed up to the yard gate to unload and someof their brood appeared to check out the booty I was delivering. Seems as though they were pretty excited about the fruit, and I didn’t make it to the house with half a bushel of apples. Our Grands are so well fed theydon’t get excited over ice cream or candy - two ends of the chart and one is almost as pitiful as the other.

I am pretty good at peeling spuds and washing dishes as the cook goes along fixing and, as soon as it is possible, I am real good at needing to go to work. I try to leave the headquarters without stirring up any of the young ones who are so full they pass out pretty quickly after eating. Sorta looks like a war zone, bodies laying around! But the snoring is assuring that all is good!

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, our family, the immediate one, is blessed to the hilt! All of us who have plenty have been shined on sufficiently and then some! The fruit that was so happily eaten, the biscuits that sopped up eggs and gravy and the milk gulped was a great banquet to those who were fed. I was also fed and made more aware of my own blessings.

I suggest we all try it once in a while! I am not saying throw your door open to all your close relative’s kin every day, keep your head about you, but feed the hungry ones and your fruit will be more abundant. That’s the sermon for today!

Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 04/06/2011