Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Way Back Wednesday Early on Nana
Since last week I wrote on my Mema, this week I am writing on my Nana, my mom's mom Alice Virginia Kilgore Harper. If there's one picture I would love to take, I would have to travel back in time, not so long ago give or take twenty years. That picture is at sunrise or sunset on a pond in south Georgia. There's this red haired beauty out on her little canoe. Just sitting there peaceful in her thoughts.....fishing. This lady would be my Nana. I've never seen a picture of her fishing, which I find odd especially since this was one of the things she loved to do. I know not the legend for sure how she came to love fishing so. I do know it is something she shared with her mother. One of the oldest fishing stories I know was of my Nana coming home and finding her mother Ida Lillian Pritchett Kilgore wading far out in some pond, dress and apron and all as I picture it. When she decided to scold her mother, not to get out to far for she might fall in a hole and drown. "Fear not", she told my Nana, if I fell in a hole, this big belly will keep me afloat. I asked my mom to write a memory of Nana fishing, since it is one of my most vivid memories. Sherry and I read her entry http://journals.aol.com/alicarobo/NanasGarden/entries/166 and for both of us many memories came to us. We began sharing them today. I think Nana's spirit is helping us remember. There are so many things I would love to know about her. I would love to have one picture of her fishing. But the picture in my head is just as good. One of my early memories I had to call my mom about because I forgot what the term my Nana used for something. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Some weekends I stayed with my Nana, she went to bed early and woke up early. On this particular morning she woke me up before the rooster crows, made me a bowl of Frosted wheats. Then she took me on a little adventure in the woods as the sun began to rise. I'm not sure how far we went, but we hiked until we came upon a very leafy place. In the middle I noticed she had a stake with her just like the ones you would kill vampires. When we got to this little area she put the stake on the ground pulled out a brick from her jacket and pushed it into the moist ground. After it was in there she said ok I want you to take the brick and rub it overthe top of the brick, and she showed me the back and forth motion. I did and much to my amazement all these little worms came crawling to the surface. I was amazed, she said this is how you telll the worms to come to surface so I can go fishing. With her trusty little foam containers we filled two containers full of worms. I remember she called it something but for the life of me I couldn't remember it. so I called mom and asked her. GRUBBING, COME ON EVERYBODY LETS GO GRUBBING FOR WORMS! Wonder if I could make that into a song. This was one of my memories of her. Going grubbing. She did love to fish, more than anything. I liked to eat those fried fish with hushpuppies with onions in them better. Honestly I hated the gnats in my eyes. I was something of a complainer. The grubbing was fun, but I wasn't crazy about the fishing in ponds as much. I mainly played or swam in the pond, and she or mama would put peroxide in my ears to make all the bugs that swam in there go away. This is what Mama told me. Guess it did kill the germs. Those foam containers I was telling you about, there wasn't a day that went by that if you got in Nana's car there would be a container of worms in her console. If you drove past her she usually had those old cane fishing poles hanginng out of her car. she really could do almost anything, I had even heard when she was young she could beat all the men at logrolling,that I would have loved to see. Another funny story I've heard was she was once fishing in a pond,and like I said she had bright red hair. Not only was it bright red it was during the bouffant hairdo days. Anyway she tipped over the boat and some man, I forgot who it was saw her and hair piled high fell over of course since it was piled so high. He thought the boat had knocked the top of her head off and he got out of his car jumped in the pond, thinking he was going to save her,when he finally got to her, she just looked at him, pushed him away and said she can swim. I might not have told this one completely right, Mama always told it better. But it's always been a funny picture I've hadof her. She was the most independent woman I knew. I loved her cozy little home, Dena's house reminds me a lot of Nana, I think Dena has more of Nana's spirit than any of us. They were fishing buddies,and she loved to go fishing with Nana. They always had a special bond. Nana was a fisherwoman, she could do just about anything. I remember her with clay in her fingers and burning pots she made. I remember her trying to get me into glasscutting, I didn't really take to that either. Now I did love the woodburner she bought me for my birthday, I loved it. She was very crafty, I remember her yarn and all the things she made with it. She could sew anything and always made my costumes for the plays I was in. She made all her own dresses when she was younger, and all of her childrens. She made my sister beautiful little dresses too. But most of all she was a fisherwoman. They even put a fishingrod in her casket with her, so I picture her somewhere where the fish are biting. I was going to try and stay with her loving to fish, but many different pictures keep flashing in my head. She was a lover of animals of all kinds. She had chickens and guineas, a mean ass turkey that lived on top of the house that would jump off the roof and onto your shoulders. Or chase you to the car like it did my sister Sherry. She had outside dogs, and small dogs she so loved on the inside. She had parrot in the living room that talked, and outside on her back patio, love birds. There were wild cats, but I don't remember her letting cats in the house. She was kind to people, and much like my mom she did good deeds that no one ever knew about but her. Love you Nana, we all miss you! I feel your spirit, I guess your always with us. Thank you for bringing so many memories back to me.
Sorry the grammer is a mess on this one, but I mainly was just trying to get out the memories. I sure look little in that picture where she's holding me.
