5/1/10

If it's Thursday, it must be hamburgers...

When I was growing up, there were certain things you could be assured of. When the whistle blew at the C & O shops at 3:30, within the next 10 - 15 minutes, Daddy would come walking up the road carrying his lunchbox. You could pretty well bet he would have a left over snack or goodie. He knew we loved to open his lunch box to see what was leftover that we could share. You knew that on warm summer evenings when he got paid we would walk about a mile to the Corner Grill and get an ice cream cone. You knew that on Sunday afternoons, weather permitting, we would either walk in the woods or up on the golf course to look for lost golf balls. Mom would wash them in bleach and Daddy would take them to work and sell them for about 50 cents a bag as practice balls. I remember one time he sold a bag to one of his friends. When the friend was looking at the balls he bought, he found one of his personalized balls in the bag that he had lost in the woods around the course. Daddy got a kick out of that. You knew that if we didn't take a walk, Daddy would be either on the patio listening to the Red's on the radio or in the living room in his favorite chair, watching them on TV. You knew that Mom would be in the kitchen cleaning up or making something delicious for us to snack on. You knew you could always go to the refrigerator and there would be a pitcher of ice cold, crystal clear well water. It was pure nectar on those hot summer days. But one thing that we always knew, no matter what, if it was Thursday, it was grocery store day and that meant hamburgers for supper. My mother has always and will always make the best hamburgers in the entire world. I always like mine smothered in cheese with mustard and Vlasic Kosher Baby Dills on it. We always had them with Barbecue Snyder's potato chips, a cold Pepsi and Saps Glazed Donuts for dessert. Sometimes we would have them with one of her famous homemade chocolate milkshakes. Over the years, we have been known to get together at Mom's just so we could have that exact meal. She will be 80 in June and still makes the best hamburgers and chocolate milk shakes around. So many things change in our world as we grow up. Technology is so advanced it can make your head spin. Life moves at a faster pace. There is so much to do and not enough time to do it all. But on Thursday's, I can close my eyes and go back to a simpler place and a simpler time and know that if I called Mom and went over, she would fix me a hamburger.

4 comments:

CHRISTY said...

Omg B that is my favorite meal ever that looks soo good! I'm on my way to the store now to buy hamburger and stuff to make milkshakes. LOL!

cindi said...

hey b we are at christys and i just read this i think you should take some time off work and write a novel and get famous and then they can make a movie and we will all be rich!!!!! this is cindi by the way and matt said to tell you hi still waiting on my poem hope you get it ready soon love ya

Mamaw's Place said...

Thanks girls! Christy, I know what you mean. I was writing this early that morning and it made me want a cheeseburger for breakfast. Cindi, the poem is done, I'm just looking for the right frame for it. I'm going to AC Moore in W. Knoxville next weekend and think I can find what I want there.

Rachel said...

I love hamburgers on Thur. What a wonderful memory and one of my favorite. Daddy and the lunch box is one of my favorites too!! We are blessed to have so many wonderful memories of Mom and Dad. What a delightful childhood we had.