“Having somewhere to go is home. Having someone to love is family. And having both is a blessing.” ~ unattributed

Hello friends and neighbors, it's good to greet everyone with a hearty hello on this Thursday, August 15, 2019. This is my birthday week. Friday. However, because of scheduling, the wife set up a family get together Tuesday evening to celebrate my 73rd. She overdid her typical overdoing by preparing what could be a colossal meal, one for the ages, so good it's hard to even describe. Her version of fried chicken which has never been duplicated, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh field peas and fried okra, fresh farm-raised tomatoes, homemade cornbread, or a loaf of homemade yeast bread, take your choice, accompanied by iced tea, sweet and unsweet, and soft drinks too. To cap it off she made a dessert that took her most of one afternoon. It's called Banana Delight and based on how it was eaten, it must have been amazing. That's my wife. She made it so special. Sure. I got some gifts, but, at my age, they are not that important to me. The real joy for me was having our family with us. The wife, our eldest Chris and his wife Sherrie, their youngest Stefani and her baby, Bella. (Their oldest, our Tiffany now lives in San Antonio and they couldn't be with us, along with their middle, Brittany who is stationed with her family in Fort Riley, Kansas. We missed them.) Our middle Jimmy and his crew were with us, Jimmy Jr., the twins, Alesha and Amanda, and Alexander Benjamin. Our youngest Rodney and his wife Mitzi along with their children, Kyleigh, Lexie, and Brady came too. Even our little pup, Mr. Bentely, participated. He acted like the party was for him. Blessed. That's all I can say. Blessed indeed. And, thankful. I know the wife overdid it and she paid the price in her tiredness with all the aches and pains to go with it, but, I know it was her act of love for me and our family. Like I say, that, my friend, was worth having a birthday celebration, any day of the week! Thanks to them all for making this a memory I will not soon forget. (I better not promise too much at my age regarding my ability to remember, but, this one was a keeper!)

I'll try to come up with something profound to share on my actual birthday tomorrow. Someone landing on my blog no doubt will notice that I mention food quite often. You don't need a search engine to determine that. I can't apologize because food is a part of the human experience and in our particular family, it is one of the focal points of our time spent together. The practice of cooking a special meal for one's birthday is a family tradition. It was, in my family. I think the wife said her mom always baked a cake, but, she doesn't remember them doing a special meal. I don't know how it got started but I sure am glad it's one my wife picked up on. When we married she was not a great cook, but, she was effective in the kitchen. Just think. Here she was, at 17, married, but she had been taught the basics. She could make biscuits from scratch and cornbread too. What distinguishes my wife is her heart for learning. She has always learned more than she believed she could. And, when it came to cooking, she was a student of some legendary cooks, like her mom, my mom, and the grandmothers too. As my mom got up in years she used to tell me that while she no longer could prepare the sumptuous meals she had in the past she was glad to know that my wife, her daughter-in-law could. Folks in culinary circles talk about things like Michelin Stars, the James Beard Award, and other kinds of recognition, but, those words from my mom about my wife, well, in our circle, they are golden. And, we get to enjoy the work of her heart and her hands. I say her heart because Granny Mac always said that good cooking starts with caring. Maybe this helps to explain why food is a big part of The View From Here.

Granny and Paw Paw Mac

I suppose I should ask, "Are you hungry yet?" Speaking of legendary, for our entire family, I think Granny Mac stands out. Plagued with health issues much of her life, she couldn't get around very well. However, she could do her thing in the kitchen. She dearly loved cooking for Paw Paw Mac, and, for her family. She was old school. She saw having her working man a hot meal as her calling and her duty. That will seem draconic to some, but, she did what she did in the kitchen with a song and a love for those who would be enjoying the fruits of her labor. I should know. My last year in high school, I would come home at noon. Let me set the scene. Granny Mac knew I was one of her 'good eaters'. On a cold blustery day, I would come through that back door which opened into the kitchen and the smell wafting on the breeze would nearly knock me down. I would say, "Granny, what in the world are you cooking?" She would say, "Son, I put together a little something for your lunch." That little something was a skillet of cornbread dressing with some link sausage in it. She knew I loved it. She made it for me. I would sit down to eat and she would sit down too. Not to eat. Just to watch me enjoy the food she had prepared. I know everyone has their different cooking traditions and they enjoy different things than those that I might choose. That's a good thing. Yet, I just have to tell you, it must have been good if nearly 60 years later I can still relive and relish those wonderful times. Amen? Yes! Amen!      .....More later.