Mamaw Jones

For some reason today I've been thinking about my grandmother--the only one I really had since my father's mother died before I could know her. Lina Manona Sadler Jones was her name. Her husband, my maternal grandfather was Eli Jones, no kidding. What a great name, though Lina Manona isn't 'shabby' (as we'd say back home as a compliment).

I remember an enormous amount of things about her--probably more than I remember about my mother, if that's fair. She was such a character.

The thing I remember today is having dinner around her kitchen table with some group of first cousins. As dinner was winding down, invariably, Mamaw Jones would say to one of us--and we all wanted it to be us!--"Have you had enough?" And we would proudly answer, "I've had sufficient."

Then she would say, "You went 'fishin'?"

And which ever one of us it was would say, "I've had plenty."

And she would say, "you caught 20?"

And we would say, since all of us were involved by then, "We're truly full!"

And she would reply, "so where are those fish?"

Then we'd have dessert--raspberry sticky buns or chocolate cake or, best of all, lemon meringue pie.

It always went that way--that call and reply, that Greek chorus, that take-your-breath-away funny exchange with Mamaw Jones. Everytime.

Maybe I'll try it out at Thanksgiving. As you know we're having 14. I bet I could get Morgan and Emma and Tegan into that give and take.

And remember Mamaw on a day when food is King.