Posts

New Year’s Fixin’s – A Lesson in Being Neighborly

/in /by

It was a blustery cold morning as Kitty and Pearl began their walk over to Maudie Pearson’s house. They carried tins full of green collards, black-eyed peas and ham hocks and some cornbread.
“This seems like an odd meal to take Miss Maudie,” Pearl said.
“It’s News Year’s Day fixin’s,” Kitty said.
“If she eats these she will have all the luck and money she needs in the next year,” Kitty said.
As they walked across the field to the tenant shack where eighty year-old Maudie lived, their steps barely marked the frozen ground which months before would have allowed them to sink a foot deep with each step.
Kitty’s walk was long and gated since she carried the extra weight of another family member inside her.
“Momma, when will the new baby come,” Pearl asked.
“When its ready,” she said. “I feel it should come any day now.”
Maudie welcomed them at the door and asked them to sit a spell.
“You folks sure surprised me coming on such a cold day,” Maudie said.
“I knew you wouldn’t feel up to cookin’ much, so we wanted to bring you blessings for the New Year,” Kitty said.
“And it looks like you will have a new blessing soon,” Maudie said as she placed her hand on Kitty’s belly.
The threesome sat near the warm fire and shared some hot cider as Maudie showed off a quilt top she was working diligently to finish.
Kitty said they best be getting back.
“The men folk will be home from hunting soon, and they might think we run off,” she said.
Kitty and Pearl took small steps on the way back. Kitty’s pace became slower and slower as she fell on her knees to the ground.
The pain doubled her over.
“Momma,” Pearl called to her, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s time,” Kitty exclaimed.
“What do I do?” Pearl asked.
“Help me and let’s get back to Maudie’s,” she said.
Pearl helped her up, and the duo made their way back to the tenant house.
Maudie said, “Land sakes I knew it would not be long.”
She helped her into the bed and told Pearl to fetch some water from the well and put it in the fire to boil.
Pearl did, and then she placed a damp cloth on Kitty’s head to ease the sweat rolling from her brow. Every few moments intense pain brought Kitty’s shrill scream of agony.
“What can we do?” Pearl said.
“We are doing all we can; the rest is up to God and the little one,” Maudie said.
After a while the screaming stopped, the pain subsided, and in Maudie’s arms was a brand new baby boy.
“Well it looks like the blessings of the New Year have arrived,” Maudie said.
Maudie reached over, picked up the new quilt she was making and wrapped the boy inside, laying him beside Kitty.
“He’ll get it a little early,” she said. “I was hoping to finish it before he came. I’ll do the rest a little later. He needs it more now.”
As the little baby looked up at Maudie and smiled, a shared grin was passed to Kitty and Pearl.
Kitty looked at Pearl and said, “Sharing blessings goes a long ways, little one. Just look what a few greens, peas and cornbread gave to us today.

From the book “A Mountain Pearl: Appalachian Reminiscing and Recipes” and available at www.RandallFranks.com/Store

WISHING ALL A BLESSED AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Is there an opportunity ahead?

/in /by

I once walked through some of the most amazing imaginable moments a human being could dream upon.

Many of the legendary stars of yesteryear were part of my life sharing their energies, advice and day-to-day existence with me. I have rubbed elbows with some people blessed with resources beyond our imagination.

What has those past experiences provided me? A life which has yielded many books and stories shared in columns and on radio and television interviews.

Their investment has allowed me to excel in so many areas of life through the work I have done in film, television, radio, writing and on stage.

Has that made a difference? Perhaps to someone, perhaps a person was touched by something offered up through God’s gifts to me.

What do I do with it though, going forward. With the change of the years, I often find myself reflecting on what I might do to make the next year more successful, more financially solvent, and more positive for all impacted.

Despite all my best efforts as months of the calendar turn faster and faster, I realize that my best plans often fall by the wayside as I live life. But at least, if I make the effort at the beginning by planning on what I’d like to do, creating lists and schedules, then maybe a percentage of those items will get done.

Each day or week or month, I can take out my pen, check or strike something off the to-do list.

Those moments always bring me a moment of great satisfaction.

With each passing year, sadly, I realize some of the things on my long-term goal list become less likely to occur in my lifetime. But regret accomplishes nothing but building a barrier to slow our progress in other paths we must travel.

Despite seeing those things fall from my list, it allows me to focus upon other ones which have a higher likelihood of coming to pass.

The new year is here. What are you going to do with this opportunity? Are you going to use it to strengthen your mind, your body, your relationships, your strength, your faith, your hopes and dreams?

Choose a path with a goal at it’s end, and run towards your goal. You can make it! You can change your life. You can uplift others that God sends your way. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

So at the end of this year, some goals will be accomplished. For me, if I am successful, I will have made a bit of money, paid all my bills, and along the way, made some folks smile or encouraged them in their walk for God.

If I do that, its been a good year. I hope your year and life is more than you can imagine.

Brighter days are just ahead

/in /by

A new year brings the promise of starting over. Many folks see it as a point to make a resolution to complete or change things in their life. Perhaps coming out of the Christmas season gives them hope to make their lives better.

In reality, each new day brings us the chance to improve our lives.

Read more

Dreaming of a new year

/in /by

A new year is upon us and with its arrival is the promise of another opportunity.
Perhaps it’s the practice of making resolutions, or the celebrations of ringing out the old and ringing in the new. I always see Jan. 1 as a new chance to do things more effectively.
So, let’s see what can I do?
The house, it needs to be kept cleaner, I can do that, let’s get started, vacuum hose in hand, dust cloth in back pocket, Pledge in the other back pocket. I need a bucket, full of water, with ammonia for the floors. OK that’s all ready, what else, where’s that extension to clean the dust off the fans? There it is. OK I need some Comet to clean the bathrooms, and a sponge.
Great, I am ready now, cleaner house here we come, but before I get started, it’s about lunch time, let me make a sandwich.
That’s another area I can improve. I should eat healthier – more leafy greens and drink more water. OK lettuce on the sandwich… what else can I put on it? There is nothing else in here. I need to go shopping.
I need to more efficiently stock my kitchen. O.K. Let’s make a list. I will open all the cupboards and see what is missing. Peanut butter, I need that, soup is always good. What about spaghetti? What’s wrong with this pen?
Now I have to find a pen. There are none here so, into the office. I’ll check by the phone. I don’t know why; pens are never there when I need one.
Right, no pens. Look at this office, files everywhere. Look at that, I sat that file there last year and haven’t touched it. I really need to get organized in my office.
No better time to start than the present. We will start with this file on that mystery book, I want to finish. Hmm. I better take a look at this before I file it.
That’s a good story. Why haven’t I finished it? That’s it, that’s what’s needed, a twist to take us in a new direction. Let me just get this typed in the computer before I forget it.
I’ll get this new book finished in no time at all.
Boy, I am getting hungry. What did I do with that lettuce sandwich? Kitchen. I was hunting a pen. Here’s one.
Will you look at this mess, all these cleaning things in the middle of the floor. Look at the kitchen, cabinets open, refrigerator door open. It looks like I have been robbed.
I have got to get this place cleaned up, close the doors, the fridge. Now let’s get the cleaning stuff back where it goes.
Now, doesn’t everything look better? There is nothing like making things neater to give a new year prospective. I am still hungry, where’s that lettuce sandwich? Here it is. Look here’s a coupon on pizza delivery. That’s a great deal. Where did I put the phone?

Brighter days are coming

/in /by

A new year brings the promise of starting over. After 2020, we could all use that!

Many folks see it as a point to make a resolution to complete or change things in their life. Perhaps coming out of the Christmas season gives them hope to make their lives better.

Read more