Editors Note
Posted on October 2, 2016 by bob in EdNote
It was a surprise trip to Troy, a spur of the moment decision. Always gracious, my in-laws were happy to see us. “But,” they apologized, “we’re hosting a football party for the ‘jetsetters.’” It was a playful, self-deprecating term they’d invented to describe their neighborhood group, poking fun at the fact that, after decades of hard work and financial and familial sacrifices, they’d all reached a point in life where they could relax and be more carefree.
Mama and Papa fretted that we might be bored at a get-together of “old fogies,” but it never crossed our minds. My in-laws knew how to throw a fun party and to us, they and their friends epitomized the coolest cats of their Greatest Generation.
The guests arrived way before the game started, already anticipating Lorraine’s spread for the evening. Her reputation preceded her. Food always makes a party and it was a lesson my mother-in-law knew well. Marinated mushrooms, a layered shrimp plate, and spinach dip were followed by a spread of slow-fired ribs, vine-ripe tomato pies, broccoli, potato and cauliflower salads, homemade cole slaw, fresh-shucked butter beans, sliced cucumbers and hot rolls. And for dessert, homemade banana pudding along with Mama’s famous apple cake. Diet or no, you just couldn’t foil Lorraine’s plan to keep you fed, satisfied, and happy. And no one wanted to.
By the time Mama and Papa were 79 and 85, respectively, their friends were either their age or a little younger. They’d all been though WWII and Korea, eye-opening experiences for those assigned to foreign duty, as well as those who’d stayed home. After their military service, many of the men came back home to work within the local economy. Long years spent in places with strange sounding names made the familiarity of Troy a welcoming place to start a career and a family.
My father-in-law had been lifelong friends with many of the assembled guests, and I listened as his contemporaries revealed him to me in a whole new light. Raconteurs, these elderly gentlemen told entertaining stories of youth: forming a band together in the 1930s (who’d have thought it?), a realized scheme to buy and own a gas station (it didn’t last long), and pioneer efforts to begin what would eventually become the Troy Country Club. The women talked about meeting their beaus and the difficulty of marrying into a cadre of friends who’d all grown up in the same small town. (For years after they were married Mama recalled that she was always introduced as being from “off,” i.e. “not from around here” –– even though she was raised in Atmore, Ala., just 125 miles down the road from Troy.)
My in-laws invited us to their jetsetter party, hoping to share good food, good company, and hopefully some good football. What we got was so much more — unforgettable insights on family history told only as old friends can relate them. It was a valuable lesson on how families are woven into the fabric of a community, and how each one shapes the other.
If you want to share family history with your children, throw a party with food, football, and a few old friends. Your old friends will end up being the stars of the show.
Sandra Polizos, Editor
primeeditor@gmail.com
