Monthly Archives: February 2017

Best Friends: Livers and Lace -By Karla

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Chicken Livers?

Whenever I have the opportunity to order chicken livers, I do! You might be wondering why, but that would mean you’ve never had Nikki Turner’s chicken livers!

In fact, Donna’s mother had a bundle of talents, and she seemed to never run out of energy! I loved being around her.

She could cook most any Southern dish. I have so many memories of her standing over the sink peeling potatoes to go with her delicious barbecue chicken. Mom always tried to get me to taste sweet potatoes, but I just couldn’t stand the thought of them. However, one day helping Donna set the table, I got a whiff of the sweet aroma drifting from the turquoise wall oven. Wonder why I have always dreaded trying these? They look great. So, I did, and I’ve never passed up the dish since. This is similar to how my love for chicken livers began. I can just see me in my young years turning up my nose to the thought of putting liver to my lips, but once again…the scent sailed through the air, and I was captured. Since then, I have eaten many little livers, not beef—now that is still  gross, but only one comes close to hers. That would be Aunt Anna’s, and they probably had the same recipe.

Dream Deliverer

Her girly gifts went beyond the kitchen door and into her little sewing room. There she began mending and stitching to help make ends meet. But she had a bigger purpose for all these seams; she had a dream for an in-ground pool for her family. It didn’t take long for her goal to be achieved. In the 80’s I did not know any other family who had a pool in their backyard! We enjoyed many summer days with the to of us practicing our Olympic synchronized swimming routines!

Nikki wasn’t just an ordinary seamstress. She was a dream deliverer too. I had the privilege of viewing so many bright-eyed brides beam with excitement as they tried on their dress, and she made alterations. When it was time to create my wedding dress in 1989, there was no question about who would do it. Every step of the process was precious to me. First, we went shopping “to find my style” she explained. Then she led me to discover the exact lacey patches that would represent my femininity. She was patient with my indecisiveness and listened to my every idea. By the time she was finished, I felt like a princess!

Little five foot two Nikki Turner was a second mom, and giver of my best friend!

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Brotherly Love -By Donna

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Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a brother, or two for that matter.  I grew up being the middle child between two males. Brothers can be a different breed. As a child, I had several friends that had only sisters.  When they would spend the night at my house, they didn’t always understand my brothers’ boyish ways. My older brother would “pick” on us while my younger brother vied for my attention since my friend had taken his playmate away for the day.  

Karla lived with her mom and three sisters. When I was young and stayed at her house, I was shocked at how they were able to walk around in their skimpies. Curling irons, hot rollers, perfume, makeup, and all kinds of girly things were everywhere. No one was burping their ABCs or making any other unmentionable noises.  

My Younger Brother

My little brother was my playmate. I had a ball dressing him up and making him play with Barbies. He interacted with Barbie with his Evel Knievel figure. He played baby dolls with me too. We often played Charlie’s Angels. I was Kelly because I thought Jaclyn Smith was the most gorgeous woman alive, and he had to be Sabrina because she had the shortest hair. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t overbearing; we played guy stuff too. I had my own collection of Match Box cars, and I could be seen doing an army crawl often. The day he tried to shoot me with a BB gun as I was riding my bike was extremely scary!

When I went off to college, he mailed me cards. He would go to Hallmark, purchase a card, and alter it with something funny. For instance, I have always loved cats. One day I got a card he sent me with a beautiful white cat on the front. He had stuck a stick pin through its head and drew blood all over it before he lovingly mailed it to me. I still have every card he ever sent.  My mother once said, “Those two would kill for each other.” She was probably right.

My Older Brother

Growing up my brother, who is three years older than me, picked on me relentlessly. So, I listened to my nicknames like Thunder Thighs, Dumb Lefty, and many more for years. If I had a nickel for every burp I listened to, I’d be rich. And of course there was always the poking or hitting when Mama wasn’t looking.  He always made fun of the way I laughed, and to this day I don’t laugh out loud often.  

When I started wearing makeup, he would say, “You look like a clown!” or “Did you put that on with your eyes closed?”  Being the quiet person I was, I never had a good comeback or the guts to physically get him back. So, I lived with an older brother that could have won a trophy for Most Annoying Brother in the World. But he always took care of me and still does.

Well, a few days ago, I got my older brother back for all the years of brotherly abuse, and I didn’t even have to do a thing. Saturday, I went into a gun store with him. As the man began helping us, he looked at my brother and said, “Are you getting this for your daughter?” motioning toward me. The look on my brother’s face was priceless.  And believe me, this time, I did laugh out loud!  

As the three of us have grown older, the laughs continue. Not to sound sappy, but we have been through some rough times, but in the end, (in the words of Captain and Tennille) “Love will keep us together”. 

If you have a brother, tell them Happy Valentine’s Day for they were among the first males you will ever love!

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70s Memories: The Wild, Wild West -By Karla

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Saturday Morning Cartoons

Saturday mornings brought many smiles from 70’s cartoons like Go Speed Racer, Scooby-Doo and Speed Buggy. Sometimes I woke while the white, yellow, green, red, and blue vertical lines were boldly lighting up the screen and the buzz was blaring in the air. I would pour myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes; Saturdays were the only day we were allowed such junk, as my mom appointed herself the junk-food police. One by one my sisters would pour their bowls and join me. We had the occasional tiff concerning whether we would watch Johnny Quest, Lynn and Gail’s favorite, or Super Friends that Julie and I preferred. Mom usually pipped in and reminded us to take turns.

After having only channel 3, 9, and 12 for much of our childhood, WTBS came into town bringing Saturdays filled with the wonderful world of old TV westerns! However, the old west was not new to us; Granddaddy had introduced us to Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty in Dodge City at a very young age.

My western crush: Lee Majors

The men of the old west were probably our first crushes. The Big Valley gave us Jared (Lynn’s love), Nick (Gail’s love), and Heath (Julie’s and mine). Not that we talked about our TV crushes very often until we were adults, but I know Bobby Sherman in Here Comes the Brides, was a favorite of ours. It is certain that we had several of his 8-tracks, and we used to aggravate the stew out of Julie singing his lyrics, “Julie, Julie, Julie, do you love me?” I believe Gail and I loved Silver and Scout the horses as much as we did the Lone Ranger and Tonto. We also enjoyed The High Chaparral. Now, I am not sure I remember who loved whom in that one, but it is easy enough to guess that Lynn would have been attracted to the oldest man in the show! And oh my, Robert Conrad in Wild, Wild West, Robert Fuller in Laramie, and James Gardner in Maverick.  (Though I did not know it at the time because Donna and I did not get to see each other on a weekly basis. I know she had to have liked Bonanza, where her love for Michael Landon began.)

Gunsmoke and a bowl of cereal

Sometimes in today’s Hollywood world, we find that some stars began their careers in the soap world. I think then, many actors began their road to stardom on the dusty westerns during the late sixties. I know that Lynn still enjoyed Robert Conrad in Ba Ba Black Sheep filmed in the late 70’s. Burt Reynolds and Dennis Weaver were both in Gun Smoke, and I so liked watching them in things later in life, especially Dennis Weaver, when he played in Gentle Ben and later in the detective series McCloud. Although sadly to my dismay, mom rarely allowed me to stay up late enough for that one. My, I always thought he was handsome in his rugged, tan, sheep’s wool coat. Not only did we watch Robert Fuller in Laramie, but later I totally adored watching him at Nana and Granddaddy’s in Emergency as the striking Dr. Kelley Brackett who saved lives. But, I think my favorite might have been when Granddaddy felt good enough to stay up and watch James Gardener in his later role in The Rockford Files. Of course, I was really too young to understand all the adult humor or flirting that occurred, but I have such memories of those days of eating our nightly bowl of cereal watching him solve cases.

Healing with the Rifleman

Several weeks ago, I had a stomach virus and was home on the couch for a couple of days. I was flipping through the channels and found another wonder that we watched in our young years. The Rifleman opened the show shooting his gun repeatedly to warn the villains. I enjoyed episode after episode, and I realized why we loved these westerns so much as kids. They were so simple and yet intriguing. The bad guy was easy to spot. I watched as the suspense built with music, not with crazy scenes of blood or explosions. If there was sadness, it was to teach a lesson. And the good guy always prevailed!

I like a world where the good guys always win! And I am in luck.

“For everyone born of God  overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has  overcome the world-our faith.”

-1 John 5:4

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Fasting: Life Is a Song, Sing It! -By Donna

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Our pastor asked the congregation to do a twenty-one day fast to encourage more prayer time. During the three weeks, you choose what you would like to eliminate, and choose something different every seven days. So the first seven days I gave up meat and sweets. It was a piece of cake, no pun intended. The second week I gave up just bread. No problem. Even when I went to Cracker Barrel, and the plate of cornbread and biscuits were set in front of me I wasn’t tempted. It was the first time in my life I have eaten turnip greens without cornbread!

For the third week, it was suggested to choose something that you really love and spend a lot of time doing. The first thing that entered my mind was music. I adore music. From bluegrass to Frank Sinatra to 80’s hair bands, I love it. (Though, I can do without opera and rap!) So this week I am giving up listening to music. I have reached for my car radio dial numerous times. At home, I often click the Pandora app without thinking. I am only on day two, and the struggle is real!

Music

Music has always been a part of my day. I forever have a song playing in my brain. I literally wake up each day with a melody in my head. This morning was “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”. I don’t even know how I know that song! Growing up I listened to records Mama played on the big wooden stereo, hymns in church, and 8 tracks in the car. I took piano lesson and was in chorus for years.

Our family has reunions in the summer. We have cousins and uncles that set up a sound system and play on the front porch while we all lounge in the yard and listen. We enjoy guitars, banjos, spoons and voices.

In college, Karla and I listened to “Delilah’s Love Songs” B98.5 every night as we did our homework. Every afternoon after lunch, we would take turns standing on the bed singing karaoke into our hairbrushes to the Bellamy Brothers or Dolly Parton, to pep us up before class. To this day, we still finish sentences with song lyrics whenever possible.

Music is very powerful. It can take you back to a moment in childhood. I can still hear the tune that Grandmother used to hum in the kitchen. My mind remembers what song was playing when my mama told me Elvis died. I remember the hymn being sung as I walked down the aisle to give my heart to Christ.

Music Memories

Music also gives me vivid memories of when my children were little. I can see Tucker at 18 months strapped in his car seat kicking his little legs, pointing at the radio saying, “three steps, three steps” . He was indicating that he wanted to hear his favorite song by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I can see Travis crawling as fast as he could to the TV when he heard the theme song from Barney. I laugh as I remember Emily in her pig tails dancing around her room, singing to the Spice Girls.

Music can bring a tear to my eye. I’ll never hear “I’ll Fly Away” without picturing my mama’s body lying in the casket that cold February day. When I hear the song, “One More Day” I think about my cousin Tammy, who left this earth too young.

Music is a gift of inspiration. The words to music can be healing to your heart. During a tough time in life, three songs seemed to follow me. They were “Good, Good, Father”, “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again”, and “Just Be Held.” Every time I got in the car and turned on the radio, one would be playing. I don’t believe it was an accident. God was using what I love to remind me He was there. Fasting from music may be strange, but it has made me very thankful for the gift that God has blessed us with since the beginning of time.

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