Aunt Pauline and the "Sweet Magnolias"

Aunt Pauline's front porch was shaded by the huge Magnolia tree which daddy had planted for her years earlier.  (He got it from a cutting off Uncle Jesse's tree).  The limbs were close to the ground, and when the grownups weren't looking, we would kick off our shoes and climb all the way to the top, carefully avoiding the big white flowers.   Aunt Pauline would cut some of the blooms and float them in the old washstand by the spare bed when she knew company was coming.  The sweet citrus scent would waft throughout the house creating a warm, pleasant, and inviting atmosphere.  In the beginning (for a long time after it got grown), that big old tree just wouldn't  bloom,  and daddy thought maybe it never would.  Then, the first spring after Uncle Jesse died,  lo and behold, there was one bloom at the very top!  The next year there were so many flowers, it weighed the tree down.  We all said it was Uncle Jesse sending Aunt Pauline "Sweet Magnolias".

"Going To Aunt Della's"

Aunt Della was "giggly" and fun. She lived across the back pasture from us, and years ago we cut a trail leading to her place. Likely as not some critters would cross our path as we kids hurried to Aunt Della's front door, but the dogs chased them away. What was waiting for us was worth the trek. I'm talking hot biscuits and homemade pies! You name it! We always got a big smile and a hug, then it was off to the kitchen in search of treasure. If you were lucky, the biscuts would be hot out of the oven and you would get the one in the middle (it's the best one). We never went home empty handed either. Sometimes we would spend the night and sleep in the canopy bed. Since she didn't have indoor plumbing, we had chamber pots in case we had to "go" in the night. Aunt Della always laughed and said she had a "canopy" over the bed, and a "can of pee" under the bed!

"The Crying Drawer"

I heard my brother yell, "Papaw's hitching the wagon!!"  Oh boy, we jumped off the porch and took off for his place.  He and Granny already had the wagon loaded, but there was still room for us, so we piled in.  It was a nice day, so Papaw and Granny had decided to call on Miss Izora Mae.  She lived about two miles from us (as the crow flies), and she didn't have a husband.  Granny felt sorry for her and said it was pitiful.  Papaw carried some tools in case something needed fixing, and Granny had a basket of eggs because a fox had gotten another one of Miss Izora's hens.  My brother hopped off the wagon along the way and pulled a clump of wildflowers so we kids could be proud that we had something to give.  Miss Izora was at the clothesline when we got there, and she was so glad to see us she made a big fuss about it.  Granny gave her the eggs and Papaw went off to fix the barn door.  We gave her the flowers and she laid them on her window sill.  Over in the corner there was a small chest, and that's where Miss Izora Mae kept her "crying drawer".  She would pull it out on a cloudy day and carefully handle the beloved "treasures" she had tucked away for safe keeping.  It would often make her cry as she touched her first pair of booties and her grandmother's favorite scarf.  Granny told me later that when the wildflowers dried up, Miss Izora Mae put them in her crying drawer.