Day 286
It’s Saturday and time for Linda Hill’s challenge and venture into our minds for some unplanned and unedited writing.
Today’s prompt is:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “chew/choo.” Use one or both, any way you’d like. Have fun!
We had a pretty close family and anytime we traveled it was by car. Sometimes the trips were short, like to visit my grandparents, or once we moved to Ohio longer trips to get back home to Virginia and Tennessee.
There were four of us kids and getting us to calm down and not bicker on these trips must have been a challenge. Mom and Dad had their tricks for sure.
My dad was a lay minister in a little town in Tennessee for a while. We knew that meant a good hour and a half in the car each way. The trip over was not bad because we were all sleepy having been rustled out of bed so early. The trip back was a different story because we were wound up after sitting in those uncomfortable church pews listening to preaching.
On the trip back Dad would stop at a gas station. There we all got a bottle of pop (which actually meant a 6.5 ounce glass bottle of coke) and a bag of Planters salted peanuts. The peanuts were opened and dumped into the coke for one of a southerner’s favorite treats. On the ride home, we were all kept quiet, drinking our coke and chewing on those peanuts. The last few peanuts generally stuck to the bottom of the bottle which meant holding the bottle upside down, mouth open while smacking the bottom of the bottle in an effort to dislodge that last peanut. I banged my front teeth many times trying to get that last peanut!
Mom always had a big purse that was jammed full of snacks for the road. She was always prepared.
The thing that kept us the most occupied, however, was singing. We all sang in the car. Everything you can imagine. From camp songs to hymns to folk songs to most anything that had a tune and words. One of the most memorable songs for me was Chattanooga Choo Choo. I loved the song, the lyrics but most of all the way my parents smiled while singing. It was a song from their era and it made them happy. And now, when I listen to it, it makes me happy and reminds me of some pretty special times.
I look forward to Saturday and Linda’s SoCS challenge. I not only enjoy writing, I love to read how everyone else responded. Pop over to Linda’s blog and see what all the excitement is about, then join in.
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