There is a line from a favorite John Prine song that reads “I am old woman, named after my mother. My old man is another child that’s grown old.” Where is it certainly true that the Professor is a child at heart and even more so as he ages, the truest ring in the line is that I am an old woman, and yes, I was named after my beautiful mother.
Being this was Sunday of a long holiday weekend, I decided to do a roast chicken dinner just like my mother and grandmother would make for Sunday evening supper. I wanted it to be a true Long family ladened-table. Being the kitchen dweller I am, I began the early preparation of what dishes can be handled beforehand. One of them is my mom’s stuffing. Now, Sister Golden Hair and I have had a ritual of sorts ever since our momma left the earth. Whenever we set about to make Momma’s heavenly stuffing, we light a candle and invite Mom to come into the kitchen with us and put her ‘magic’ in our hands. Silly, I guess, but to us it is like calling on angels. If you are so inclined, you do understand.
Later in the afternoon, after I had finished making the cranberry sauce and the stuffing, I cleaned up the kitchen and blew the candle out. As I made my way to the living room the clock read 3:56 pm. I thought, ‘Nice, maybe I can catch a 4 o’clock movie starting.’ I flipped around the stations and sure enough, I found one that I thought would pique my interest. As I sat the few minutes waiting for it to start, I closed my eyes and began a silent devotion to Mom. I thanked her for joining me in the kitchen, I thanked her for everything. I told her of my efforts to keep a close eye on her baby girl, Sister Golden Hair, just as she would have wanted.
Hearing the background music of the movie beginning to play, I opened my eyes and put my attention to the screen. There manifested before my eyes was her name spelled out in vivid letters. What? Based on a book by….Jeannie Long?
Yes, I think my mother does know! There are signs everywhere!