Wednesday, January 16, 2008

George Washington Carvin' Out a Piece of My Heart



Yes, that is TWO George Washington Carver references now in this blog. Must have been the one day I didn't skip social studies in school.

My old man came up to visit a month or two back, and he brought with him a 25lb. box of salted peanuts.

I should probably explain this. Back home, our grain elevator (where you take the grain after you have harvested it you damn city kids) shares it's driveway with my high school. This was a bit annoying when I was haulin' loads with the ol' John Deere in front of cheerleading practice - but I got to know the owner, Terry, quite well.

Terry was the epitome of a small town guy - he knows every farmer that comes through his place by name, and always remembered the lil stuff - where I was at school, what crazy shit I was involved in (rock bands, radio stations). Anyways, Terry kept a healthy stock of snacks at his place, knowing that most farmers don't have time to take a lunch (although I can admit I have driven a John Deere 7610 (seen below) through the Arby's drive-thru).



Among the usual candy bars and cans of pop was a huge bin of peanuts. I have always loved eating peanuts in the shell and my old man would go up to Terry's and buy a shipment of peanuts - which came in a box of 25lbs. So there is your background on where the 25lb box came from. (This paragraph is intentionally unfunny because any joke would have involved puns about being "asSalted" or jokes about "nuts".)

I had more or less steered clear of the peanuts since he brought them up; seeing as how they are messy and make too much noise during The View - but yesterday I decided it was time to dive in like so many circus elephants.

It is amazing to go back and visit something that stirs up so many memories. At first taste I was back home, cracking peanuts as I worked on the farm, tossing the shells on the floor of the John Deere and hiding my face from the cheerleaders. Then, I was at the Jake (still the Jake to me) sitting in the upper deck on a Wednesday night cracking shells and sipping a beer; cheering on my beloved Tribe.

Then I realized it didn't stir up an exact memory or moment - but just a bunch of good memories. It took me back to places that are most core to me - be it as broad as the memory of the small town in Northwest Ohio that taught me how to get my hands dirty and how to drink a beer; or as exact as the sun going down behind my favorite baseball park as my team makes a run towards October.

So here is a quick list of other things that don't recall so much of an exact memory as just a warm fuzzy feeling (for once not a result of whiskey).

Coke from a glass bottle
Playing baseball
Fishing
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
Tom Petty
Bonfires
Busch Light

So cheers to realizing an old favorite. And to another reminder of those redneck roots I sometimes forget to flex.

And to hilarious pictures of me on a tractor that I am SURE will be used as blackmail at some point in my life.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

And I gotta say having experienced said "nuts"... they're pretty tasty.

even pretty girls need to read said...

I am going to let my nerdiness slip here: I have been to George Washington Carver's home. He did over 200 things with a peanut. Great Man.

...and no, it wasn't for a class trip...

even pretty girls need to read said...

sorry - THE peanut. He did not do 200 things with a single peanut.

Narm said...

Jason - sorry they are so salty!

Claire - First. Yes - extreme nerdiness but I am not one to talk. Second, there were SOOO many jokes in my head about doing 200 things with one nut - I'm glad you corrected it before I embarrassed myself.

even pretty girls need to read said...

I'm glad too.

Imagine if there were 200 things to do to a nut, how exponentially would it grow if you threw another into the mix?

BloggingJason said...

Do you or do you not eat the shell? Confess!

Narm said...

Claire - I only need one use for a nuts anyways. Be delicious.

BloggingJason - I eat the shell until my tummy dictates its time to crack them fuckers open and just eat the treat.

Momo said...

I'm staying out of the nut jokes... but I will add some things that bring back that warm and fuzzy feeling. :)

- the smell of banana bread (either my mom made this a lot, or she just made it really well, because everytime I smell banana muffins or banana bread, I feel like I'm in my kitchen at home)

- Fla-Vor-Ice. You know those popsicles that come in the plastic sleeves and they would hurt the side of your mouth if you had too many? God, I miss being a kid in the summertime.

- Aliage perfume. Smells like my mom. :)

- Dad's homemade chicken noodle soup.

- Journey

- Dire Straits' Money for Nothin

- Crocuses and daffodils (we had a ton in our yard, and they were always the first to emerge every Spring... I still look for them every year)

- coffee from Perks

- jogging in Chapin Forest

- being anywhere near or on the Matchbox Theater stage

... and sadly, in a year or two, I could probably add Dive Bar or Map Room to this list. Ha.

Hot Coffee Girl said...

I am kicking my own ass for not reading this post sooner.

Although it is a cold and bitter winter, this picture is going on my list of things that make me happier than I know what to do with. I will be laughing until the warm breezes of spring in Cleveland blow.