Here in my latest years it seems there is always the question of what are we going to have for supper.
I kinda miss those days back when I was living with 5 siblings and my mom and dad. We always knew what we were having because it was whatever my mom had decided to fix.
No questions and no choice other than take it or leave it.
I wasn’t a real picky eater back in those earlier times. I pretty much ate anything that didn’t eat me first.
Despite that I was skinny as a mangy jackrabbit as I often survived on ketchup sandwiches between meals. It scared me and caused nightmares when people would tell me I had a tapeworm.
My mom tried to convince me it was due to my refusal to eat beets. Well mom, just look at me now and I still don’t eat beets.
Early school days brings to mind peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a brown paper bag. If the budget was allowing then a cookie might be added too.
Are some of you younger folks reading this and thinking how could a simple thing like a cookie impact a budget? Talk to your grandparents if you are lucky enough to still have them. It was a different world back in the day.
My childhood friend Angel Martinez who lived just down the street was as skinny as me. I couldn’t figure that out as we played on the St. Joseph Catholic School ballfield by their house.
Even the smells in the air when his mom was cooking made me gain a little weight. It was always a special treat when we got to try one of her homemade flour tortillas.
Angel’s brother Joey was on the thin side too. Later that trend was broken when Jessie came along. Even when he was in diapers he was no lightweight as I recall. Around that time Angel had to combine his ballplaying with babysitting.
Sometimes when Angel was up to bat we took turns holding Jessie. For some reason it didn’t sit well with Jessie when it was my turn. He would cry and holler the whole time. That amused Angel and Joey to no end. Not so much for me and Jessie though at the time. Later in life I got to tease Jessie about it quite often.
Here in my current Growing Up In Bandera life I have a simple solution when the question of what’s for supper comes up. It can be applied to breakfast and lunch too. It’s called OST.
Of course other places are occasionally visited too but it’s hard to beat the old Bandera feeling in the Old Spanish Trail.
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