During our developing years, our list of the wonders of the world around us changes. Meeting Santa was a wonder that took some getting used to as well as the wonder of kittens being born.
The first time we went to the circus was filled with wonders. Tigers, lions, elephants are all exciting but not as disturbing as watching ten clowns get out of one small car. That one bothered me. I never wanted to get inside of a small car after that. What if I got trapped in there?
I had learned so much, yet my education seemed to grow the most just before the holiday season. I learned about spooks during Halloween. Thanksgiving had its own surprises. One thing captured my sister the most and once again brought Grandmother to our rescue.
My grandmother, the true Southern Lady that she was loved listening to the radio. However, during a short period, a song called the Mule Skinner Blues would play. Now, grandmother would say she hated that song, but her foot seemed to like it because it would not stay still when it was playing. We always laughed about it.
The season for cooking was about to begin. My grandmother’s lady’s group always got involved with whatever was going on in the community. The crocheted and knitted for the poor. They did sew and repairing of children’s clothing for clothing drives.
There was always the “Lady’s Bazar” they made baked goods for. They sold the baked goods in order to pay for the rest of the things they did like the food baskets etc.
One of the top sellers for the Bazar was my grandmother’s fruitcake cupcakes and of course whole fruit cakes. What made them special was the homemade peach brandy put on them every day. Also, there was some rum that was put on the big cakes. It became a daily ritual after the cakes were made. It was during one of these “Lady’s Bazar” preparation meetings that showed me some wonders I never knew anything about.
My grandmother had gone with my mother to the venue where the Bazar was to be held. The booth decorations and preparations would take them all day. Lilly, my grandmother’s older sister was in charge of my sister and myself along with conducting the cake preparations.
My aunt Lily was a very sweet woman. She did seem to get a little overwhelmed with my sister and me being underfoot, so she sent us outside to play in the backyard.
We played for a very long time. It was not until we needed to come in and tinkle that the wonders started coming to light. We walked into the kitchen. No one was there. We walked into the hall. No one was there. There was no one talking. We ventured into the formal dining room.
The dining table had been let out its full length. Ten chairs all the way around. One lady was in each chair. The cupcakes and fruit cakes were also scattered all in front of the ladies. Each lady seemed to have her head tilted back, her mouth open, sound asleep. One or two of the ‘ladies’ were even snoring. All of them had a glass of peach brandy and a cup of rum in front of them.
This was amazing to us. My sister wanted to taste it. So, she did. It tasted so good. She gave some to me. Yummy. We proceeded to go around the table and gulp down the remainder of the peach branch. Then we started on the rum. It was not as good but after all the brandy it was not so bad. Now, you must understand. We had no idea what was happening to us. We felt silly. Everything was funny. I do mean everything. My sister decided she could hang upside-down on the crystal chandelier and toss some of the fruit bits into the open mouths of the sleeping “lady’s club” members. She pulled herself up and only a few of the crystals fell off. She started swinging.
We were laughing and having a really good ole’ time when The Mule Skinner Blues came on the radio. I got on top of the dining table and started clapping my hands and stopping my feet to the music. Suddenly, all the women woke up at the same time.
Mother and grandmother walked in just as I was about to rap up my song. “I hate that song.”
“Lilly, Grandmother was shouting.”
“Lilly, my mother was shouting.”
Aunt Gussy opened her eyes and screamed when she saw my sister swinging on the chandelier.
My sister was rescued first. I remember lots of black coffee being made all afternoon. Grandmother repaired most of the cakes that had been made.
She said this is one time the Fruitcakes made the Fruitcakes.
To me, it was just another one of the wonders of the world. How to turn ten, church-going, Southern Ladies into ten… sleepy time gals.
I don’t think grandmother ever put Lily in charge of my sister and me again. Grandmother wanted me to remember the headache and the pain. I did. After that, all I had was peach preserves but not brandy.
The girl stomping her feet and dancing to the music was six. The girl swinging on the chandelier was four. We had all turned into fruitcakes.
Tags: Making Fruitcake
