May/June 2018 Volume 13, Issue 3
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Grow A
Great Summer
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magazine TIFFANY BYRAM
Owner/Publisher/Editor/Graphics/Layout
VICKI CASKEY Sales Manager FEATURE WRITERS
Heather McWhorter Bailey Tiffany Byram Sara McDaniel Melanie Massey Groves & Brian Russell, MOCO Rosemary Thomas
JENNY REYNOLDS Founder
6 Every Summer has a Story Tiffany Byram
8 Creating a Square Foot Garden
Sara McDaniel of Simply Southern Cottage
12 Summer, Sunshine, & Willow Rosemary Thomas
15 Easy Like a Summer Morning:
Classic Pancake and Buttermilk Biscuit Recipes Heather McWhorter Bailey of Social Bites
20 Best Summer Ever Tiffany Byram 24 Don't be like the Lazy River
Leslie Albritton Heather McWhorter Bailey Winnie Griggs Penny Jones Sara McDaniel Jason McReynolds Rosemary Thomas
Melanie Massey Groves & Brian Russell, MOCO Office Phone: 504.390.2585 Ad Sales: 318.548.2693 Address: P.O. Box 961, Belle Chasse, LA 70037
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The Minute Magazine is distributed throughout Caddo, Bossier, Claiborne, Bienville, Ouachita, Webster, & Lincoln Parishes in Louisiana. They are FREE for you to enjoy. Take some to your friends, relatives or anyone else who needs a refreshing, enlightening “minute.� Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be copied or reproduced without permission. The Minute Magazine cannot be responsible for unsolicited materials. The editorial content of The Minute is prepared in accordance with the highest standards of journalistic accuracy. Readers are cautioned, however, not to use any information from the magazine as a substitute for expert opinion, technical information or advice. The Minute cannot be responsible for negligent acts, errors and omissions. The opinions expressed in The Minute are those of our writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher has the right to accept or reject any advertising and / or editorial submitted.
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ow's your summer going? Over here at the Minute, we've been spending lots of time with family and friends reminiscing about summers past and long forgotten memories of childhood. All that talk got us thinking how to make this year a summer of intention. Be intentional in planning events and activities that bring joy to those around you. Don't sweat the small stuff and do something new! This summer has the potential to rejuvenate your spirit, use up every last drop of it. Let the sun warm your toes while you read a new book or plan an outdoor BBQ for the gang. Every summer has a story and we want to help you cultivate a bright and fun season surrounded by the people you love. It's easy to let summer slip away. We get caught up with work and to do lists and forget to take time out for us. This issue of The Minute Magazine is all about little ways to make your summer better. Whether it's a quick day trip to the lake or a big summer-long family project, do things that make this a summer you'll always remember with people you'll never forget.
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bout six years ago, I REALLY started to watch what I was eating. I made a conscious effort to only put things in my body that are as close to their natural state as possible. That means cutting out all things processed and mostly all breads and sweets (heaven help me). While I’m not fully vegan, per se, my edible items of preference are not meats, but vegetables. And LOTS of them. And with the cottage, moving to Louisiana, and simplifying, I decided it was time to grow my own food. I’m definitely not a vegetable garden novice, as years ago when I served in public schools, it was easy to plant, grow and maintain a summer and early fall food supply. But when I shifted roles and my career became more demanding, vegetable gardening didn’t come quite as easy.
I’d love to hear your garden success stories! Feel free to email me at sara@simplysara. com or connect with me on Facebook or Instagram at Simply Southern Cottage.
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But now, with a beautiful backyard and a perfect place for a garden spot, I decided it was time to give growing vegetables another go! And I decided to try my hand at a little square foot garden! In case you’d like to do the same, I thought I would share the steps I took to create one. First of all, I ordered the Greenland Gardener Raised Garden Kit. (You can find it by visiting: simplysoutherncottage. com/gardenbox.) It arrived in a just a few days and set up was such a breeze! Literally like five minutes! It comes in eight pieces made from heavy-duty plastic. There are four long pieces (for the sides) and four corner pieces that are notched. The long sides simply snap into the corner pieces, and within just a few minutes, I had a garden box ready to be filled! For the soil, I mixed up what is called “Mel’s Mix” all over the internet. I used two bags of cow manure mixed with organic soil, one gigantic bag of Miracle Gro Garden Soil and two bags of Vermiculite. Before spreading the Mel’s Mix in the box, I sprayed any grass or weeds with Round Up, put down a layer of old packing paper (to help curtail any weed growth) and then rotated dumping the various components of Mel’s Mix into the box. Using a shovel, I mixed and mixed and mixed until I felt everything was good and, well, mixed. Next, using some fishing line, a hammer, some small nails and a measuring tape, I created the square foot sections. I measured off approximately 12” segments along each of the long sides. At every 12” increment, I tacked down a tiny nail.
So on each side board, there are two nails, dividing up three sections. Next, I took fishing line, tied it to a nail, and stretched it across the garden box, tying it to a nail on the opposite side. I repeated this for the remaining nails. Now, the garden box was divided into nine sections and it was time to plant! I chose many of my favorite items that could be eaten straight from the garden and/or used to make fresh salsa! Big tomatoes, little tomatoes or “Tommy Toes” (as my Papaw called them), jalapenos, banana peppers (also known as “peppercinis” in the south), bell peppers, onions, okra, squash, and spinach. Basically, I placed one tomato, Tommy Toe, and squash plant per square foot section. For the okra, peppers, spinach, and onions, I put two to four plants per section (probably too many per section, I know, but I digress). Then in a little section of an adjacent flower bed I planted a watermelon, basil and parsley. As of the penning of this article, everything has been in the ground a little over three weeks. And so far everything is thriving! The Mel’s Mix appears to be providing the exact amount of nourishment to help the plants grow big and strong. Mother Nature has provided lots of rain as of late, but spread out in manageable increments as to not oversaturate the garden. The garden box sits in a super sunny location, so the spring warmth is helping the plants to thrive. I can’t wait until early summer when I am able to enjoy fresh vegetables straight from my own garden! Not only will I save money by growing my own food (and essentially paying for the cost of the garden box the first year), but I’ll have fresh healthy vegetables to supplement my diet. How fun to walk a few steps from my cottage back porch and have my very own, little garden! Seems fitting and in keeping with a lifestyle full of simplicity!
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ummer is here. I knew a girl named Summer once a long time ago. A delightful Hippie-Chick with a free spirit type personality. I don’t know what her middle name was, but I am hoping it was “Thyme.” Unfortunately, that Summer isn’t here, but Summer Time is here, and I am ready! Please people, I am begging you all, let us try not to be shocked and surprised when it gets hot. It will get hot. Very hot. Don’t act like you didn’t see it coming, as in “I just can’t believe how hot it is today” or “Can you believe it has been over 95 for the past 3 days?” Yes. Yes, I can believe it. It happens Every. Single. Year. Expect it. Accept it. Embrace it. Work with it and around it. One way to deal with the inevitable heat is to get outside early. If your schedule allows time in the morning, get out there at daybreak and do your thing, at least until Mr. Sunshine runs you back in the house. I knew a girl named Sunshine once too. Perhaps her first name was “Hello”, but I don’t really know. Even if you have to be to work early most days, get up 15 minutes before usual and have that first cup of coffee or chai outside. Just a few quiet minutes in the morning can help you develop a positive attitude for your day. If you add shade and water, you can stay outside and enjoy Mr. Sunshine all day. Slather yourself and the kiddos with sunscreen, pull on that bathing suit and get in that sprinkler. The kids will remember it forever, and they might sleep better at night because you have worn them out! Do it even if you don’t have kids. Set that Chaise Lounge up under the Willow Tree,
put the sprinkler on oscillate and pour your margarita in a cup with a lid and straw (we don’t want it to get watered down). Every time that sprinkler hits you, it will make you squiggle and giggle --- and anything that can make you squiggle and giggle as an adult is a good thing! And just so you know, I knew a girl named Willow too. She cried a lot. Once you go inside with the kids, look on Pinterest for all of about 5 minutes to find thousands (not an exaggeration) of ideas for crafts and projects. Even if you don’t have little ones to entertain, you can do the same thing. You may choose to work on something other than a toilet paper roll octopus with googly eyes, but you are bound to find an art project or craft to make. Have reading time with the kids. Take them to the library and have them settle quietly for reading. You can do the same. May I suggest The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. A gorgeous book. Summer doesn’t last forever. Accept the unpleasant things with grace and actively seek out the good things. Look forward to long days, butterflies, dragonflies and fireflies. Anticipate sprinkler giggles, cooking on the grill, sunflower bouquets and fresh produce from the Farmer’s Market. Enjoy sweet watermelons, picnics, reading lists, vacations and watching birds raising babies. Shift your perspective just a little, find pleasure and joy in very small things, and make many wonderful memories this summer. If you run into Summer, Sunshine, or Willow – give them my love.
Rosemary Thomas is an avid cook and gardener who enjoys the challenge of owning Rosemary's Kitchen in Ruston and working with her daughter. To find out what's cooking in her kitchen today, visit her facebook page at www.facebook.com/simplefreshgood/ or www.rosemarys-kitchen.com
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a novel approach written by Winnie Griggs
Perspective Part 2
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ast time I started a two-part series on literary perspective. In it, I explained that perspective is about how individuals view, process and filter the actions, environment and sensory details they encounter. It takes into account the individual’s education, experience, upbringing, beliefs, attitudes, and goals because the sum of a person’s experiences and beliefs inform how they view the world and react to whatever they face. In Part I, I focused on how to develop and effectively utilize the perspective of the characters in your story. In this article, I’ll move on to discuss two other aspects of perspective that impact your story – the author perspective and the reader perspective.
Author Perspective Let’s discuss author perspective first. Whether consciously or not, our own values, beliefs, upbringing, biases, and experiences can’t help but color our work to some degree. It’ll show up in the subtext, in the way we dive deep into some topics and avoid or skim over others. Our ideas of justice, morality, spirituality and ‘how things work’ all influence how we portray the characters in our stories. We’ve all read ‘agenda stories’, stories where the author obviously had a point they were trying make, and they are using the story as a vehicle to deliver the agenda. It’s like being preached at and if it is very heavy handed such writing will quickly cause the reader to put the book aside in favor of another, more entertaining read. If your purpose in writing is to make a particular point or teach moral lessons, then perhaps you should turn to writing opinion pieces, essays or non-fiction.
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But even if we don’t have an agenda or are trying to hammer home a social, political or moral issue of some kind, author perception can still creep into our work. As writers, we need to be conscious of this, and actively look for it as we edit. Things to look out for: A character who pontificates (either in dialogue or introspection) on a particular issue that has nothing to do with your plot or characterization, particularly if the tone is didactic or judgmental. Chances are you are using this character as a soapbox. Look for situations where dire consequences befall characters who espouse different values from those you hold. Evaluate whether this (and the severity of it) is realistic for your story or is simply you, the author, trying to make a point. Look for situations where your characters are acting out of character and evaluate why that is, again making sure you have not subconsciously imposed your own agenda for that of your character.
Reader Perspective And finally, there is one more level of perception that impacts your story, and this is one you as the writer have absolutely no control of – that of reader perceptions.
Each reader will bring the sum of his or her own experiences into the reading experience. If your story contains hotbutton elements of violence, abuse, injustice, infidelity, etc, you are going to be touching on sensitive areas for your readers who have experienced some of those things themselves. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go there, just that you need to be aware it will have that impact. But even something you thought of as quite innocuous when you wrote it might very well strike a nerve with some of your readers. Something as simple as a scene set at an outing to the circus could set off alarm bells in your reader simply because she had a very frightening experience at a circus when she was a child. As I said, you really have no control over this, but it is just something for you to be aware of. And there you have it – the three different types of perception that can impact your story and the readers who dive into them. As always, feel free to contact me at Winnie@winniegriggs.com for questions on this or any other aspect of novel writing. And feel free to look me up on Facebook as well. ----------------------------------------------------
Winnie Griggs grew up in south Louisiana in an undeveloped area her friends thought of as the back of beyond. She and her siblings spent many an hour exploring the overgrown land around her home, cutting jungle trails, building forts and frontier camps, and looking for pirate ships on the nearby bayou. Once she ‘grew up’ she began capturing those wonderful adventures in the pages of her notebooks. Now a multi-published, award winning author, Winnie feels blessed to be able to share her stories with readers through her published books. You can learn more about Winnie at www.winniegriggs.com or connect with her at www.facebook.com/WinnieGriggs.Author
There's nothing quite like a lazy summer morning spent cooking breakfast in your pajamas. Here are two simple and classic recipes to up your cooking game and make your tastebuds jump for joy.
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INGREDIENTS • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 tablespoon brown sugar • 1 1/4 cups milk • 1 egg • 3 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted • 6 tablespoons cold butter for pan • 1 cup blueberries
DIRECTIONS In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter. Mix until smooth. Heat griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Rub cold butter on pan. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Add a handful of blueberries per pancake, let it bubble and flip. Brown on both sides continually adding butter on skillet or griddle for a crispy edge and serve hot.
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INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting • 2 tablespoons baking powder • 1 tablespoon sugar • 1 teaspoon salt • 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter • 1 cup buttermilk
1. Preheat oven to 425. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a food processor. Cut butter into pats and add to flour, then pulse 5 or 6 times until the mixture resembles rough crumbs. (Alternatively, cut butter into flour in the mixing bowl using a fork or a pastry cutter.) Return dough to bowl, add milk and stir with a fork until it forms a rough ball.
Top with rosemary or berries for garish. Add a fried egg or whipped cream in the middle with a side of bacon for a full filling breakfast!
2. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and pat it down into a rough rectangle, about an inch thick. Fold it over and gently pat it down again. Repeat. Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. 3. Gently pat out the dough some more, so that the rectangle is roughly 10 inches by 6 inches. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured glass or biscuit cutter. Do not twist cutter when cutting; this crimps the edges of the biscuit and impedes its rise. 4. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
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the uncommon
housewife written by Leslie Albritton The Art of Letting Go
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othing strikes fear into the heart of a mother more quickly than; “Mom, I have something to tell you.” Rarely is anything said after that phrase that constitutes as good news. When I received a phone call from my daughter, Nicole, early one morning uttering those words, I begin to have heart palpitations. My morning had already jumped off to a hectic start. I was scrambling in a race with the clock to make it to work on time after oversleeping. To save time I applied my make-up while blow drying my hair. This bright idea of mine left me looking like Cruella Deville after stepping through a wind tunnel. My multitasking skills leave a lot to be desired. It was during this time that my daughter called. “Mom, I have something to tell you.” “What? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have you been in a wreck? Where are you?” I fired off in one breath.
graduating class. I was so proud of my girl! I remember jumping off the couch and tackling her in a big bear hug that landed us both back on the couch. “Mom!” She bellows. I want to shout that I’m not ready! But instead, I say how happy I am for the two of them and for this exciting time in their lives. My congratulations are sincere, but there is a slight twinge in my heart. Don’t get me wrong, I already consider Jacob as the son I never had and I could not have hand-picked a better person for my daughter to share her life with. They are two country kids who enjoy the outdoors and all that comes along with outdoor living. He is a godly young man who treats her with love and respect. She loves him more than she loves her horses and that’s saying quite a lot! They are waiting until they graduate from college next year before they get married so I will still have my sweet girl for a little while longer.
The painful and inevitable truth is that letting go is a process. I am letting go of my beautiful daughter, watching her loosen ties to our family so that she can begin a family of her own. Change is hard! Letting go can be so difficult because of so many great memories that were made; the Christmases, birthday parties, vacations and all the other in betweens. I want to resurrect the past to enjoy once again my baby when she was a baby. I have come to realize that the beauty and challenge of motherhood is that as tightly as I would like to hold on, I continually need to let her go. With each letting go, I get to experience the joy and amazement of watching her step further into the unique and independent woman that she is.
Who am I kidding, I can’t even type the above with a straight face! To be honest, I’m going to hold on to my little girl like she is the winning lottery ticket until the How can any mother ever prepare herself very last second when she says “I do.” for the day her baby girl gets married? ----------------------------------------------------------
“We’re getting married!” My daughter and her boyfriend, Jacob, of five years sang into the phone. The rapid palpitations in my chest soon turn into a full-on heart attack. “Wha..wa..what?” I muttered in shock as my mind stepped back in time when my daughter began to walk and took those first few clumsy steps right into my waiting arms. “Mom, did you hear me? We’re getting married!” I was transported back to the day she graduated kindergarten. She was so excited to be going into first grade until she found out the first graders didn’t get to color or take naps. She announced that day she would be staying in kindergarten until first grade was allowed to color and take naps. Not too much has changed since that time. She has now replaced coloring with drawing and still loves those afternoon naps. “Hello? Mom, are you there?” Softball games, sleepovers, prom; where did the time go? I remember the night we found out she would be the salutatorian of her
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Leslie Albritton is a simple girl living in a country world. She lives on a small farm in Farmerville with their daughter Nicole. They raise mini donkeys, mini horses and mini goats, hence the "small" farm. A runner, biker and kayaker she enjoys all things outdoors, especially the furry and four legged kind.
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the journey written by Jason McReynolds Mid Week Message
I
’m not sure what day it is that you are reading this. Each day of the week has it’s own personality though, doesn’t it? Mondays always seem rough, but really I think they offer us a new start and aren’t that bad. After Monday comes Tuesday. I am of the opinion that Tuesday is the roughest day of the week. There’s nothing unique about Tuesday. It’s not the beginning of the week. It’s not the end of the week. It’s boring. Tuesday is awful! Actually, I’ve heard that Tuesday is the most productive day of the week, which I think proves my point. You might get a lot of work done, but you are just grinding out the day. Plus, you have the rest of work on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday still to go! Just thinking about it sucks the life right out of you, doesn’t it?!?! In the bible, there was an old testament prophet named Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s job was to speak God’s word & truth to the people of Judah. The truth was that the kingdom of Judah had sinned for way too long & had been warned repeatedly that they would be overtaken if they didn’t turn back to God. Well, the time came & Jeremiah was the man God chose to communicate this to Judah. The problem, though, is that no one wanted to hear what God had to say and they blamed Jeremiah. They tried to kill him on several occasions simply because he was doing his job. Talk about a rough extended Tuesday! Maybe you feel like your life has been like Jeremiah’s lately, stuck on Tuesday. It’s like you are always looking up at the top of the mountain & the top doesn’t seem to be getting any closer. When I hike in the mountains, I’ll be looking at what I think is the mountain peak and I’ll climb and climb and climb to reach it only to discover more mountain beyond. What I thought was the peak was actually false. Life can be like that. Sometimes when you think you are going to hit a goal or finish a project or turn a corner, you hit a false peak & find that you have to keep going. So why does Jeremiah keep going? Because he is certain that God will take care of him. How about Wednesday? Now that’s a day! It’s the middle of the week. Hump day! Feel free to conjure
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up the mental image of the Geico camel commercial here… “Guess what day it is?” Wednesday gives us hope. Why? Because we are now looking toward Friday. Our focus is no longer on how long the week is or how it’s dragging on, it’s on the fact that the weekend is now so close, right? The weekend gives us hope, doesn’t it? You can’t see Friday. You can’t even see the end of Wednesday, can you? But you can just feel that freedom that the weekend brings. There’s hope on Wednesday! God gave Jeremiah & Judah hope in the midst of all of the gloom. In the book of Jeremiah chapter 23 verses 3-8 and again in chapter 30 verses 8-9, God told Jeremiah that He would rescue Judah from their captors. Not only that, but God was also going to give them Jesus who would rescue them from their sin. This is the ultimate hope!
2. Assurance (certainty) in what we do not see (hope). The world’s definition of hope is a 50/50 chance that it may come true. But when we place our trust in Jesus for everything in our lives, our hope is 100/0 in every situation. A rough situation is 100/0. He will work it out for your good in a way that glorifies Him. A great situation is easy to see 100/0, right? If we have a simple, easy certainty on Wednesday that the weekend is coming, why don’t we have a certainty about Jesus if we are following Him.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us two things about our trust in Jesus.
So what can we be certain of? It’s not what you belive God will do in your life. That’s your plan. That will never be 100%. Your certainty is in Jesus' plan for your life. There is a huge difference between your plan and Jesus’ plan. And since that plan is unknown to you, the only thing you can do is cling tightly to the one who knows it. Our certainty is in Jesus.
1. We can have confidence in what we hope for. This isn’t wavering confidence. This is 100% confidence.
Spend some time this week, be it Tuesday, Wednesday or any other day, reflecting on where your hope lies.
Jason McReynolds is the pastor of New Orleans Community Church. He and his wife, Liev, have two boys and one little girl. Jason enjoys hanging out with his family and friends, watching and/ or playing any kind of sports, and taking his wife out on dates. To learn more about him, or NOCC, visit: www.neworleanscommunitychurch.com
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penny
for your thoughts written by Penny Jones
Mame's Sorrow Historical Fiction
P
eace… that is my heart's cry. The babies have finally been put down to nap. The heat is so overwhelming I find myself sitting on the front porch, and there appears to be no breeze in sight. Life is an opportunity, but also a challenge. Jordan left for the rig today, and will be gone two weeks and then finally home. I find myself asking the question, is this all there is to life? Getting up every morning and just making it through the day? There seems to be an emptiness in my soul, and I don't know how to make it whole. Mame said it was the "Good Lord, and Him only that can take away this emptiness." Mame knew difficulties, and she also knew the loss of loved ones. Now that I think about it, she had to have been around 100 years old when I was a little girl. I will never forget, I was six years old sitting on her front porch, as dusk approached and she told me a story. At the time, I thought it was scary, but she was not trying to frighten me. No, now I know she was trying to teach me that life is full of injustices, and we must make sure that we keep our heart pure and our soul full of Jesus in this tough world. As dusk turned into night, she wrapped me in her arms and said 'Baby, you want to hear a story?' Yes, Mame. Then stop wiggling. Listen as the cicadas sing. That is the song that never gets old. It means life is still flowing. A long time ago down in Iberia Parish we served the Massa. Mama and I were house slaves, and the Union Soldiers were nearing. He grabbed me one day with his hand and said, "Get your little brother to bring my horse and you both come with me. My mama gave John and me hugs real quick at the kitchen back door. She told me to watch out for him, and make it back safely.
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I guess she knew something wasn't right. Massa had a big large canvas bag, and it was full of silver and valuable items. He took us down by the singing bayou, past the frogs croaking and the Egret birds enjoying the water. Past the small church on the hill, into the woods, and way back until we encountered a very small cave. Upon arriving, he gave John the shovel and told him to get inside and go as deep as he could pulling the canvas bag with him. He looked at me and told me to keep quiet. Then in horror, I saw him cover the cave with a rock. I began screaming for him to let John come out. He turned, and the last thing I remember was everything going black. We arrived back at the house. Mama came out screaming. Massa told her to be quiet! Said there was an accident and John didn't make it. Wrapping her arms around me, she carried me to our room. Crying, I explained John went in but didn't come out. Tears streaming down my face, I told her I tried to get Massa to stop! Looking into my mama's eyes, I explained I don't know how to get back past the singing bayou and the church to the cave. Shh… mama said. Baby girl, it ain't your fault. Then in the most sorrowful, but loving voice Mama sang Sweet Low, Sweet Chariot. I feel asleep that night in the arms of love. Quietly, Mame whispers to me as the cicadas have finally quieted down and the stars have come out to shine. She says, "Bonnie Baby, life ain't fair. It ain't easy at times, but the 'Good Ole Lord' will carry you through the most difficult of days." Gently she taps my heart; this right here is the only thing you have to show Jesus when you get to Heaven. Take care to love well even in pain, and when the loneliness of life creeps in just sing out to Jesus. He is always near. Snuggling deeper into her chest, though I was almost as big as she was, her arms of steel wrapped around me, and I fell asleep. That was so many years ago now. I have babies of my own to wrap in my
arms. Looking out of the porch to the magnolia trees, and the road beyond where my Jordan will return in a couple weeks. I ask my Heavenly Father to come into my loneliness and fill the void. I thank him for Mame. Though she is long gone, her story of heartache is a testimony for me to continue forward. Then peace that I cannot comprehends surrounds me, and I simply rest. ---------------------------------------------------Dear Reader, I hope you have enjoyed this story. I can't tell you if it's true or not. It is a story passed to me. It is one that originated from my granny who said her friend was, in fact, the little girl that lost her brother. I have of course taken the liberty to paint a narrative that describes much pain. What I do know is that much injustice was done through the years. Thus, I dedicate this article to all those who have felt disrespected, discriminated against, unloved, and lonely. May the peace and love of God surround you this day. Scriptures referenced: Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV) Psalm 19:14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. ---------------------------------------------------Penny Jones was born and raised in Louisiana, and finds joy in the history of this unique state. She holds a degree in English from the University of Kansas CityMissouri.
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