As I get older, I think about “the good old days” and the way things used to be. I am grateful for my grandchildren who keep me anchored to the “here and now” and make the present a lively, happy place to be. In the back of my second Etta book, Remembering Etta Bend, I included remembrances of the two of Ma and Pappy Latty’s surviving children in 1992, Georgia Latty Cochran and my mother, Susie Latty Day. They remembered many things about their parents and their childhood. This morning, I write about a few of the things that stood out in the memories of my Aunt Georgia and my Mom.
Aunt Georgia’s words:
“What comes to my mind after all these years is the big breakfast Mama would fix every morning. She always fixed big biscuits, fried meat, and had flour gravy every morning. If I had felt a little bit bad the night before, then when I got up for breakfast, I saw a cup with a saucer over it sitting on the table by my plate. And I knew I’d have to take some Black Draught Tea. That was Mama’s cure for just about everything. Like Susie, I remember the security too. I knew that Mama and Papa would be there all the time.”
Mom’s words:
“I have so many, many memories of Mama and papa I could never tell them all. I think what is so outstanding is the security I felt. I knew Mama and Papa would always be there, that they would always be at home when we were. When the day’s work was over, the family gathered around the supper table. The variety might not have been so much but there was always plenty of food. It never entered my mind that the family might be split up. When I see so many broken homes today and children scattered, needing love, warmth, and shelter, I know how blessed we were. As I look back, I marvel at how wise Mama and Papa were. I didn’t realize it when I was a child but now I am amazed at their wisdom. I am very thankful for them and those wonderful years at Etta Bend.”
The Heritage of Etta Bend
by
Blanche Day Manos
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