GRANDMA LUCY
ANGIOLA MEMORIES CIRCA 1950’S
Grandma's hands
Used to hand me piece of candy
Grandma's hands
Picked me up each time I fell
Grandma's hands
Boy, they really came in handy
She'd say, "Matty don' you whip that boy
What you want to spank him for?
He didn't drop no apple core"
But I don't have Grandma anymore
-Grandma’s Hands
Bill Withers ‘71
Grandma Lucy was my Mama’s mother; tall, lean, and athletic she did not play. She always wore a housedress with an apron over it and her hair tied up in a handkerchief. If she told you to do something you better do it or else. She had to be firm because she was left in charge of six hard-headed grandchildren when their parents were working in the fields. The two she had the most problems with was Steverino my little brother and cuzzin Duane the two youngest.
One of my earliest memories is one very hot summer day when she had fed us all breakfast and sat us down under the shade tree with a warning not to get up and go in the hot sun. Steverino was a rebel from day one and unafraid of a beating. Immediately he gets up and heads out.
Grandma Lucy spots him and warns, “Boy didn’t I just tell you not to go in that hot sun?!”
“You yaer!” He had committed the ultimate sin calling Grandma Lucy a liar.
We all sat on the bench holding our breath terrified of what was about to transpire.
Steverino took off headed across the dirt road his little legs moving as fast as they could go.
Our eyes were on Grandma Lucy as she stood still arms folded watching Steverino for a few moments.
When you’re a child everyone over twenty appears old to you and incapable of moving fast.
As if in slow motion Grandma Lucy leaned forward into a sprint her legs and feet seemed to transform into wheels like the characters on the cartoons. She shot forward and across the road wheels spinning snatching up Steverino holding him upside down and spanking his bottom while he screamed bloody murder. She deposited him on the bench with the rest of us and with a warning look went inside her cabin.
I felt sorry for little bro but he had to learn sooner or later that a hard head meant a soft sore bottom.
After that incident none of us dared question Grandma Lucy’s authority or her physical abilities we thought she was superwoman.
Another vivid memory is Grandma Lucy’s cooking was to die for. I distinctly remember three foods that nobody I mean nobody could touch her recipe she had the magic touch. She cooked pinto beans from scratch that had a heavenly flavor and would melt in your mouth. I recall watching Cowboy movies when on the trail they would eat beans from the can and savor them like it was the best thing they ever tasted…such were Grandma Lucy’s beans. She taught my Mama step by step…Mama’s were good but not as good as Grandma Lucy’s.
Grandma Lucy’s fried chicken was out of this world…KFC, Church’s Chicken, and Popeye’s could not compare in any way shape or form. Again she taught Mama whose chicken was very tasty but not like Grandma’s Lucy’s.
And lastly her Meatloaf from scratch was otherworldly with a flavor that appealed to your taste buds like it was made specifically for you. Grandma Lucy said she used whatever ingredients she had on hand to make her wonder loaf. She taught my Mama who in turn taught me and again Mama’s was good mine was delicious but never as good as Grandma’s Lucy’s. I’ve always thought her magic touch with food dated all the way back to Mother Africa…no one could come close to her cooking.
Grandma Lucy was a strong and stoic woman I feel like my own Mama inherited those traits from her and I myself exhibit them in times of stress. She was the foundation of her family and even after the untimely demise of Grandpa Henry she remained steadfast for her family.
When her time came she faced it head it on fighting off mini-stroke after mini-stroke until Mama had no choice but to call an ambulance because the big one was not to be denied. Her earthly journey ended after seventy-seven years but her Spirit lives on in those of us who remain.
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