Lunch & Memories

As I sit here and eat my lunch, which consists of a fried bologna sandwich with mayo and mustard I am taken back many years, over twenty years ago. I never in my life thought I would be writing from memory something that happened more that twenty years ago. Wow, does time fly.

This is a memory from my childhood that leaves me smiling and comforts me to the bone. It starts with fried bologna, a sandwich that reminds me of when my family would all pack in the car and make the journey from Lincoln Park, Michigan all the way down to Erin, Tennessee (we would eat our fried bologna on the way down for lunch). Why Erin, Tennessee you might wonder, that was the little town my Grandpa Rushing, my Gramma Worgess' father, lived. We would go visit, we thought of it as a vacation. What memories came from that little old town. The old men would sit on the bench as you entered town. Why when we are kids does everything seems so huge? Well my husband and I, before I called him my husband, drove over to Erin on one of our trips to Tennessee and I will tell you that his little old town, well it is little.

Mostly the wonderful memory is of my great-grandfather. I don't remember much but I do remember the good stuff. He had a huge cedar closet, which to this day when I smell cedar I think of this closet, it takes me back to those days and I feel very young. In this closet was a freezer, which at the time seemed huge, in that freezer was ice cream and a lot of it. We could have some of that ice cream when we went to visit. That was the best....

I also recall a time we went to visit and we went out for fish, on the way home it rained and rained. I just know that we had catfish. Speaking of food....there was this place where we used to get the best BBQ. It has been about twenty years since I had it last, I still crave it, I crave it like crazy sometimes. It was so yummy. BBQ sandwiches and Frito lay potato chips, that was the best meal ever.

Those were the best times of the summer when we would go visit. I don't ever recall being bored at my grandpa Rushing's house. We always could find stuff to do, places to go, mostly memories to make. He was the best man, so kind and loving. He was funny too, he used to tell us he would box our ears if we had not listened to him. We would just laugh and think he was playing, He could have very well been serious. I just know I have all good memories of Erin, Tennessee. The people, the food, all of it is still vivid in my mind like I was just there yesterday afternoon for some good times and great food with great people.

If you ever wonder where my gramma gets her greatness from, I have no doubt she gets it from her parents. That's where my mom got it from and where I get it from, and I am passing it onto my kids. We just finished our fried bologna and I loved to share that story with them.