Thursday, November 19, 2009

I'd marry that man if he wasn't already

      My brother-in-law's father, Jimmy ( does that make him my father-in-law once removed? ) dropped off a fifty gallon trashbag full of sweet mustard greens today. He knows just how much I love greens, maybe because he has superior intuition, or maybe because I tell him everytime I see him. This was his second delivery in two weeks, over 100 gallons of some of the prettiest greens in town. He had gotten up early this morning to pick them, determined to make sure he pulled the tender leaves before the rain moved in this afternoon. It's a back-breaking job bending over and  harvesting greens, especially when you know your labors are not for yourself but for someone else's  gain. He had planted his garden this year with his usual intent....work hard and then give most of it away, but that's the kind of man Jimmy is....joyfully doing back-breaking work not for himself but simply because he wants to make somebody else happy.
      But wait, there's more! Not only did Jimmy bring me fresh picked greens, he brought me his grandmother's big ole fifty-quart pot to cook them in. He said my pot wasn't big enough to cook them. And that, my dear, is not an insult.
      But wait, there's more!  He sat on the porch and helped me strip them all down, pulling the tough stems away from the tender leaves so I could cook them right away. To top all that, he then took the bag of leftover stalks and leaves home to add to his compost pile, preparing a year in advance for next year's garden. I guess in today's political culture, that's what we'd calling "going green." Al Gore's got nothing on this man.
     But wait, there's more! He then proceeded to oversee my washing and rinsing of the greens, finally instructing me on the best way to cook them (according to HIS grandmother's recipe!): how much water to add, what temperature was correct, how much country ham would season them just right, whether a streak of lean was the better choice, how much to salt them down, how long to cook them, whether to cover them or not, when to stir them, and all the other intracacies involved in the process of preparing greens for the table. We ended up with enough not only for supper but with four extra quarts to put up for Thanksgiving dinner.
     I couldn't help but think:  Here's a man who grows dinner, harvests dinner, delivers dinner, prepares dinner,cooks dinner,and plans for next year's dinner. I told Sissey that this was the kind of man she needed to save her heart for...a self-sufficient man,a gentleman who was hardworking, generous, helpful, and kind, one that women would pass on the street and say, "I'd marry that man if he wasn't already!"
     And that, my dear, is not an insult!
     

1 comment:

  1. OH LORD, PLEASE LET ME COME LIVE WITH YOU GUYS........NOTHING BETTER THAN GREENS COOKED WITH COUNTRY HAM!! I CAN'T STAND IT............

    BRENDA S.

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