When I was a junior in high school, I was part of a triple trio...three girls singing soprano, three girls singing second soprano, three girls singing alto. Triple trio...get it? Anywhoooo...our triple trio had done so well at district competion, we qualified for state. Quite the to-do, don't you know? State competition was held at a university campus in the same town where my grandparents lived, so it was a no-brainer as to where we would make our night's lodging. We, being...Mama, Sister A, my friend Pepper, my friend KR and me, would stay with Granny and Papa. Pepper and I were two of the three altos. KR was along for moral support.
My grandparents loved having company. They always enjoyed having family around and whomever might come with family. We lived about ninety miles away, so they didn't always have a chance to meet my friends. I think it really tickled them to have a couple of my friends stay in their home. It sort of put me at pause. My grandparents were very forthright with their opinions (Can I get a witness?). The good news was that you always knew where you stood with them. The bad news was that the opinions weren't always cushioned. That's not a judgement against them. It's just who they were. There was no telling what they would say, so I was sort of braced for whatever.
We rolled into town Friday night. Competition was Saturday morning. Since we didn't have to pay hotel fees, it was nice to be in town the night before and not have to get up ridiculously early for the competition. Granny and Papa had finished out their attic some years earlier. It was a GREAT space. Mama and Sister shared the bed; my friends and I made pallets on the floor. Is sleeping on pallets a Southern thing? I grew up with that word in my vocabulary and with first hand knowledge of pallet sleeping. Some of my Northern friends look at me strangely when I talk about that. We made quick work of laying out our pallets and just hanging out in the attic. Sister treated us to a steam roll. (She's probably going to kill me for sharing that little detail!) Pepper, KR and I were lying on our "beds". Sister was lounging next to Pepper and all of the sudden she shouted, "STEAM ROLL!!!" She proceeded to roll across/on top of the three of us, giggling maniacally as she went. Then, she made a return trip! Neither Pepper nor KR knew the joy of having a younger sibling...I believe Pepper was the youngest in her family and KR was an only child. Mercifully, we were spared a third trip by Granny asking us to come downstairs and visit.
Granny and Papa proceeded to ask Pepper and KR all sorts of questions about themselves and their families. Then they wanted to know what music we would be performing. They both so enjoyed music. All of their children...all five of them...could sing. In fact, they used to sing on a local radio show when they were youngsters. All of them were involved in band and/or choir in school. So, there was always music at Granny and Papa's. The two songs we were singing were, "When At Night I Go To Sleep" and "Down By The Riverside." OK...before we go any further, you need to understand that my grandparents were NOT racist or prejudiced. My grandparents were the children of po' ,white, cotton -pickin', sharecroppers in Arkansas. Folks were folks. Good folks came in all colors...so did trash. Some of Granny's best friends were the black ladies she worked with at the "groovy Juvie". Remember, I told you earlier...they were very plain spoken. To be quite frank, there wasn't a filter. I'll bet you can guess what's coming...Granny looked at my Pepper...who had beautiful skin, the color of GOOD, melted, dark chocolate...with an impish grin on her face and said, "Well, you should know 'Down By The Riverside'! Isn't that a spiritual?" I. wanted. to. die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pepper fell out...LAUGHING!!!! I mean, several minutes of deep, from the guts, the "leaves a body breathless" kind of laughing. KR, whose home life was pretty quiet and sedate, sat there with her ocean blue eyes as big as saucers! It took me a minute...felt like HOURS...to realize that it was okay to laugh. That Granny was not trying to be offensive and Pepper wasn't at all offended. So we laughed and I think we laughed ourselves to sleep that night.
We woke to the sound of pots clanging (Granny's version of a wake up call) and the lovely smell of fried pork (mmmmm) wafting up the attic steps. We clambered downstairs to discover that Granny and Papa had cooked us a lovely breakfast...fried eggs (my Granny made the prettiest fried eggs I've ever seen), bacon, toast and coffee. Papa offered to fix us all plates and while KR and I accepted his kind offer, Pepper refrained and said she was too nervous to eat (something completely unheard of in that particular household) and would just like a cup of coffee. Papa asked how she liked her coffee and she asked for it straight up. Papa looked at Pepper and said, "Now, child! Don't know you that will make you black?" It's a VERY good think Pepper didn't have the mug to her lips; she'd have burned herself and I don't know that I could have explained that to her precious mama! Again, I stood there, with my mouth hanging open; wishing the earth would swallow me whole and KR as wide-eyed as she was the night before. Pepper laughed until she cried. The rest of us joined in. Not sure how any of us ate or how all of us managed to get ready (1 bathroom)and out the door but we did. Pepper hugged the stuffing out of my grandfolks and told them just how much fun she had with them. She also said that she hoped she'd see them again. That was the end of our trio's victory streak. Sight reading is the DEVIL. I really think Pepper and I had stripped our gears, so to speak, with all the laughing we'd done prior to our event.
Time moved on and life changed, as it is prone to do. We grew up, graduated, moved out and on with our lives. Granny went to Heaven in October 2002; Papa went in July 2003. I lost touch with Pepper and KR for several years. However, thanks to a certain vein of social media, I found them both. Pepper was quick to ask about Granny and Papa and shared her genuine condolences upon learning of their glorious promotions. She was also quick to recall how much fun she had that night and how she's never forgotten it. She knew she was welcome and at home.
To this day, I cannot hear "Down By The Riverside" without thinking of this...and I can't think of this without smiling.
My grandparents loved having company. They always enjoyed having family around and whomever might come with family. We lived about ninety miles away, so they didn't always have a chance to meet my friends. I think it really tickled them to have a couple of my friends stay in their home. It sort of put me at pause. My grandparents were very forthright with their opinions (Can I get a witness?). The good news was that you always knew where you stood with them. The bad news was that the opinions weren't always cushioned. That's not a judgement against them. It's just who they were. There was no telling what they would say, so I was sort of braced for whatever.
We rolled into town Friday night. Competition was Saturday morning. Since we didn't have to pay hotel fees, it was nice to be in town the night before and not have to get up ridiculously early for the competition. Granny and Papa had finished out their attic some years earlier. It was a GREAT space. Mama and Sister shared the bed; my friends and I made pallets on the floor. Is sleeping on pallets a Southern thing? I grew up with that word in my vocabulary and with first hand knowledge of pallet sleeping. Some of my Northern friends look at me strangely when I talk about that. We made quick work of laying out our pallets and just hanging out in the attic. Sister treated us to a steam roll. (She's probably going to kill me for sharing that little detail!) Pepper, KR and I were lying on our "beds". Sister was lounging next to Pepper and all of the sudden she shouted, "STEAM ROLL!!!" She proceeded to roll across/on top of the three of us, giggling maniacally as she went. Then, she made a return trip! Neither Pepper nor KR knew the joy of having a younger sibling...I believe Pepper was the youngest in her family and KR was an only child. Mercifully, we were spared a third trip by Granny asking us to come downstairs and visit.
Granny and Papa proceeded to ask Pepper and KR all sorts of questions about themselves and their families. Then they wanted to know what music we would be performing. They both so enjoyed music. All of their children...all five of them...could sing. In fact, they used to sing on a local radio show when they were youngsters. All of them were involved in band and/or choir in school. So, there was always music at Granny and Papa's. The two songs we were singing were, "When At Night I Go To Sleep" and "Down By The Riverside." OK...before we go any further, you need to understand that my grandparents were NOT racist or prejudiced. My grandparents were the children of po' ,white, cotton -pickin', sharecroppers in Arkansas. Folks were folks. Good folks came in all colors...so did trash. Some of Granny's best friends were the black ladies she worked with at the "groovy Juvie". Remember, I told you earlier...they were very plain spoken. To be quite frank, there wasn't a filter. I'll bet you can guess what's coming...Granny looked at my Pepper...who had beautiful skin, the color of GOOD, melted, dark chocolate...with an impish grin on her face and said, "Well, you should know 'Down By The Riverside'! Isn't that a spiritual?" I. wanted. to. die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pepper fell out...LAUGHING!!!! I mean, several minutes of deep, from the guts, the "leaves a body breathless" kind of laughing. KR, whose home life was pretty quiet and sedate, sat there with her ocean blue eyes as big as saucers! It took me a minute...felt like HOURS...to realize that it was okay to laugh. That Granny was not trying to be offensive and Pepper wasn't at all offended. So we laughed and I think we laughed ourselves to sleep that night.
We woke to the sound of pots clanging (Granny's version of a wake up call) and the lovely smell of fried pork (mmmmm) wafting up the attic steps. We clambered downstairs to discover that Granny and Papa had cooked us a lovely breakfast...fried eggs (my Granny made the prettiest fried eggs I've ever seen), bacon, toast and coffee. Papa offered to fix us all plates and while KR and I accepted his kind offer, Pepper refrained and said she was too nervous to eat (something completely unheard of in that particular household) and would just like a cup of coffee. Papa asked how she liked her coffee and she asked for it straight up. Papa looked at Pepper and said, "Now, child! Don't know you that will make you black?" It's a VERY good think Pepper didn't have the mug to her lips; she'd have burned herself and I don't know that I could have explained that to her precious mama! Again, I stood there, with my mouth hanging open; wishing the earth would swallow me whole and KR as wide-eyed as she was the night before. Pepper laughed until she cried. The rest of us joined in. Not sure how any of us ate or how all of us managed to get ready (1 bathroom)and out the door but we did. Pepper hugged the stuffing out of my grandfolks and told them just how much fun she had with them. She also said that she hoped she'd see them again. That was the end of our trio's victory streak. Sight reading is the DEVIL. I really think Pepper and I had stripped our gears, so to speak, with all the laughing we'd done prior to our event.
Time moved on and life changed, as it is prone to do. We grew up, graduated, moved out and on with our lives. Granny went to Heaven in October 2002; Papa went in July 2003. I lost touch with Pepper and KR for several years. However, thanks to a certain vein of social media, I found them both. Pepper was quick to ask about Granny and Papa and shared her genuine condolences upon learning of their glorious promotions. She was also quick to recall how much fun she had that night and how she's never forgotten it. She knew she was welcome and at home.
To this day, I cannot hear "Down By The Riverside" without thinking of this...and I can't think of this without smiling.
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