Monday, August 3, 2009
LALA(Aug.2) & GRANNY (Aug.4)
Today I hope I can get all the cousins to share rememberances of these two very, very special Ladies. I talked with Bula yesterday & she said she would love to read these. With Lala - what can you say - she could be so very funny when she wanted to and there was nothing she loved more (except her family!) than a good book. She loved murder mysteries, especially Helen Jackson Braun's THE CAT WHO.... books and the MISS JULIA books. She and I would talk about these characters like they were real people. And she loved the A&E series of NERO WOLFE. Now about Fay Cusenbary -- if you knew her as Granny, Moma Cush, Cushen or Aunt Fay - let us here from you. My favorite story of Granny was one I don't remember but I've heard it so often that I thought I was there and then yesterday Bula told me I was!!! I was just a baby and was at her house early one morning (I was probably crying & Moma rushed down the street to get Granny to shut me up!!) Granny was fixing to go to work and just as she was quieting me the girls (I bet Blanche Repass & Ima Lee Hawkins) honked the car horn coming to take her to work. Bula said she laid me on the dining room table, got her coat, gave me to someone and left. Bula said a little later she heard voices in the living room and the girls were laughing and telling Lala that when they got to work Granny took her coat off and they all just hooted. SHE HAD NO SKIRT ON!!!! She wouldn't come home to get it, just put her coat back on and went to her desk. The girls came and got her skirt. Sooo, what it comes down to is that it was my fault Fay went to work skirtless --- Mr. Crawford and Grandaddy never let her forget it. Another special memory to me is the day Moma, Keri and I went to the rest home to let Granny meet Eden. She was thrilled to see us and we had a lovely visit and she held Eden. When we left, I hugged her and told her I loved her. As we were walking out she said "I love you the mostest!" I didn't know it at the time but those were the last words my Granny would say to me and I treasure that memory so much. So----now, please, on this the "between day" of their birthdays, write a memory or two. Love to all of you! Jody
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I have many many stories to share....
Granny-she'd let me do her hair. I always wanted to be a hairstylist and she'd sit patiently while I brushed, messed up, and 'fixed' her hair. once, we were watching "Password" and Phyllis Diller was on it. Granny said I made her look like Phyllis Diller. LOL. Little did I know that was NOT a good thing. LOL. I'd sit in the kitchen on the step stool and watch Granny cook. I didn't realize it then, but I learned a lot. I used to eat the instant mashed potatoes while they sat waiting to be used and she'd wonder why they were disappearing. LOL! SCAT! is what she'd say. I loved doing the dishes with her. I'd play "soda shop" with the bubbles. We take walks around the neighborhood and visit with a one-leggged man (I thought that was so neat) and we'd walk in the alley behind the house. I loved to look through the closet in the back of the house. So many neat things in there!
Lala- I have SO many....here's one that is just so LALA..a few years ago, Mom made everyone some 'trash' or 'snack mix'. It had pretzels,peanuts,cereals,rasins,m&m's,other nuts and etc...Lala was out of cereal one day and she ate the snack mix with milk for breakfast. LOL! She said it was good...hmmm. LOL!
Lala had a dress that we (Nana,Mom and I)hated with a passion. You all know the dress, LIME GLOW-IN-THE-DARK-GREEN dress. For years and years, Nana did Lala's laundry and she kept threatening to 'loose' the dress. She didn't. I'd go over to either clean Lala's apartment,take her somewhere or she'd come over to visit or eat and there would be Lala in that dress. Lala couldn't see worth a hoot and she didn't know the dress had large stains and was decades out of style. We really hated that dress, but loved the person in it, so we never said a word. One day, I guess Nana got sick enough of that dress to 'loose' it. She called me and said "Catherine's favorite dress has disappeared." LOL. I was so happy. We would giggle about that awful dress and I thanked Nana over and over for loosing it.
Ok, I'm going to tell you all a Lala tale that is also a Nana tale....hehehhheeee...
When Lala was still getting out without the help of a walker, she and Nana would run errands and go and do things a lot. I would go with them often and unfortunately, I missed this one...Nana and Lala were out going and doing and Lala had to do errands.They went here and there and Lala had to go to the bank. Now, Lala didn't care much for motorbanks, so she'd have Nana park and she'd go inside. When they got home, Nana called and told me this tale laughing a quite evil laugh through the whole telling..
Lala got out of the car and walked into the bank. A very nice man held the door open for her. The whole time Nana watched Lala walk in with the back of her skirt tucked into her pantyhose. LOL! Nana said she was laughing too hard to stop her and then after the man looked and got a 'full moon' as a thank you for holding the door, Nana REALLY lost it. She was still in hysterics when she got home and called me. I don't know if Lala asked Nana what was so funny or not, but I do know Lala never knew about it.
I was staying at Granny's one day and I guess Nana was to come and get me or something...anyway,I'd been playing with Lala and we were singing or something. We heard Nana drive up and Lala began to sing "I hear Nana coming" and it was so funny. Lala laughed so hard she had to run to the restroom.
There isn't enough time or room to write all the wonderful memories,but I loved them dearly. Granny was so perfect in my mind and still is..Lala was my other Grandmother. I always thought of her that way and always will.
Two very special and unique women who touched my life and the lives of all who had the pleasure of knowing them.
Love you all.
Keri
Well, Jody. I bet the story about Granny going to work without her skirt is the origin of all us girls getting half-slips when we got older. Hee.
My favorite Lala story involves going out to eat. We would all load up...Lala in the front, of course...and head to the restaurant. When we got there, she'd look at her purse, then say to no one in particular, "Well, I won't be needing this."
And I can still see Granny sitting in her rocking chair working a puzzle. One of us grandkids would ask, "Can I have a coke?" and the answer was always, "Surely!"
I sure do miss them.
Candy
PS. You know how the word verification for this blog is sometimes just a jumble? Well, today it is "bless". Appropriate.
Bula and John sent me this email after reading the first two posts..
I don't know if I laughed or cried more reading the memories from you and Jody. I hope some of the others will check in. It's funny we have some similar memories. I used to sit on the old white kitchen chair and talk to Mama while she cooked Sunday dinner. (me playing hooky from church)
She didn't want my help cooking but alot of things I do in the kitchen is because that's the way Mama did it. She did have me set the table.
When I was a kid, Lala and I would do the dishes. She washed, I dried. And we had a radio show, The Two Merry Sisters, and we'd sing all the popular songs. The Hit Parade on the radio was a big deal then and Pat and Lala (Calah to me then) kept a tablet with the words of the songs on it. They'd have blank spaces where they didn't get the words and add them in when they heard the song again. It was fun growing up in that old house with Mama and Daddy and my brothers and sisters..
Can you forward this to Jody?
Love you,
Bula and John
OK, here's a vivid memory that I have of Granny AND Lala. I remember Granny driving Lala and me from Wichita Falls to Graham (not sure of the occasion) and somehow a huge buzzard dipped down and started flying along the road right in front of us. Now you all may remember that Granny was speed limit challenged, so we stayed on his tail (literally). His wing span was the width of the car, which amazed me because I had never seen a bird that big before. The three of us screamed our heads off for several seconds until the buzzard finally veered off to the side.
Candy and Diane may share this funny memory of Lala: Not too long ago, the three of us took her and Aunt Pat for a drive around Graham to see the sights. We stopped at the sonic to get something to drink, and one of us mentioned that we shouldn't go too far because we'll probably need a ladies' room soon. Lala proudly announced, "I don't care. I'm wearing a diaper. Let's go!"
Susan
It always seemed to me that of the two ladies of the week, Lala was the more sensible, strict, rule-minding one of the two: memory in point:
Bill Dan (that's a tip of the hat to Lala, making sure "Dan" is included when speaking of my bro) and I think I were at Granny's and Granddaddy's and Lala's visiting (I've heard the story so many times, I don't know if I was really there or not; I'll accept Bill's recollection on that). Anyway, a huge thunderstorm was happening, and Bill and Granny were watching a monster movie, "The Mummy," or "Frankenstein" or something in black and white. Now surely you all remember all the wires in the Cusenbary house plugged into one outlet? (Note: see the movie "A Christmas Story" and it will remind you). Sparks were flying on these wires during the thunderstorm during the monster movie. Lala came into the living room saying "Oh! Oh! Oh!" and proceeded to unplug everything, including the TV with the monster movie. She then left the room. Granny turned to Bill Dan and said, "Well, she's just no fun."
I remember Lala coming home from work on Fridays, and as she made her supper (the big meal was at lunch, apparently made by Granny and Keri, hee, hee), she would do a little dance (yes, I said, DANCE) and sing, "It's Friday! It's Friday!"
I remember visiting Granny and I'd say, "Granny, want a frosted coke?" She would always reply, "I believe I do."
And finally (for now), when she was told that I was going to have a baby, she answered, "That's what we've been waiting for."
Love all those Cusenbary females!
Di
As usual, I am a day late in checking the blog and finding these sweet remembrances of two wonderful ladies who were so dear to me. My heart will always reflect a swell of gratitude that they were and always will be a part of my life. It would be nearly impossible to choose one single experience that was of a special nature, because it was always special to be around them. It's just impossible to put into coherent words how much influence they had on my life and I am forever grateful that MamaCush and my mother forged a bond that kept Wade and I a part of the family after Mother and Daddy were divorced. I know MamaCush told me several times that co-workers and friends had told her she should forget about us as she had so many other grandkids, but she was often willing to give up her vacation time when she could have done something more fun, to have Wade and I stay with her, and I treasure those times. I miss them.
I was cooking supper when I remembered this. How many of us have spent the night on 4th street and hung on for dear life while sleeping with Lala? That bed had the deepest canal right down the middle and was definitely supposed to be just for Lala. I was laughing out loud while I thought of this and turned off supper so I could type this reply. HA!!!
Candy
Oh, you guys!!! These rememberances (Lordy, what a big word LOL)are wonderful and I'm like Bula - I laugh and I cry. Let's keep them coming. Celeste, great fun for Granny WAS having you and Wade with her & Granddaddy. She loved all of us so much and could never see us enough (well now, maybe she saw me a little more than she wanted but, I sure never knew it) Suzy will be here this weekend and I'll get her to write something on my computer. I'm hoping something from Kay and Deborah and Martha and Cathy. I guess it would be tooooo much to ask the GUYS to write something???? Bill Dan - Wade!!!!!! We ladies of the clan WILL let you'all put a word or two in. Love ya, Jody
OK, I've got a couple more ... I DO remember that crater in Lala's bed. I thought if I didn't hold on to the edge, I'd never be seen again. But once when I was really small, I heard Granny say, "Susan and I will sleep on the porch." Now I didn't know that her bedroom was called the porch - I thought we were going to sleep outside on the steps. I was pretty relieved when I realized a bed was involved after all!
Who remembers the canister of Milky Ways that Granny kept on the kitchen counter? And there was always a steady supply of Dr. Pepper in bottles.
Susan
Susan, as always, you crack me up! Yes, that bed did have a crater and yet, that's not what I remember the most about sleeping with Lala. It's the soothing sounds of Fourth street late at night, it was so comforting for some weird reason, as opposed to anything you would hear nowdays with all the crazy metroplex traffic we have to endure. Oh, and I may be mistaken, but I think I do remember when the back bedroom really was more of a sleeping porch. I'll bet Diane will remember the night we both tried to sleep with MamaCush out there and kept that poor woman awake most of the night with seeing you could keep saying "no, I love you the mostest". The jars of Milky Ways and caramels surely made a contribution to my sweet tooth, waistline and dental bills, too! I loved every minute of time spent on Fourth Street. Has anyone ever been able to perfect a roast the way that MamaCush could make it? The flavor was so distinctive and the brown gravy to die for. Sheesh! I'm drooling for those tastes just sitting here typing. Pavlov was right - hahahaha!
Yes! the roast was wonderful and the meatloaf the very best but the FRIED CHICKEN was the best ever!!! Of course, we've all tried but quite frankly, it's been so long since I've had "homemade" fried chicken, I'm not sure I could even fry one now. And, when I was little Granddaddy even let me have his pulley-bone!!! But then,as I got older, I was told "That's Daddy's, Jody". Now, I bet my grandkids have never tasted or even know what a pulley-bone is. And poor Granny always got the back and the gizzard. God bless her - she swore she liked those pieces!! I tried to eat a gizzard once and it was a tough as a boot. And no one could make homemade soup like Granny, or homemade banana ice cream or that lemon pie Granddaddy said had the juice of 27 lemons in each bite. Lordy, Cis, I'm drooling too!! And I loved Granny's veal cutlets. And remember she always skined her tomatoes before slicing!! Loved it. More later, I'm sure. Jody
I remember watching Granny peel tomatoes and slice them. I always wondered how she could do that and never get cut. LOL!
I'd walk in the back door, go to the fridge, get a Dr.Pepper (now I have a serious habbit)and get either a milky way or a few caramels. Yummy. It is at Granny's I discovered orange juice and milky ways. Oh, that was good. They always had the tiny cans of oj.
I remember going over each Sunday for lunch and having a great meal on those wonderful blue and white dishes. Remember the dishes? Oh, who has those? LOL! I have the blue glasses.
Remember the red rocking chair?
And trying to catch and get a photo of Granny...wow...not an easy thing to do.
Lala was a lot of fun, but, as Nana said, she was the 'worry-wart'. When I'd go run errands with Lala and Nana, Lala would make sure I had my seat belt on and the car door locked. Don't know why I had to lock the door, but Lala would insist that I lock the door. Also, the woman didn't ever drive, but she was a total backseat driver!
Everyday after I got home, I'd call Lala. She'd listen to how my day went, what the kids were doing and etc. But, I could not call while Jeopardy was on, or she'd hang up! Once, I got home early and called...."Hello? Oh,Keri, Jeopardy is on."CLICK.
Oh, another one....
Lala had a 'thing' with the remote control. Lala couldn't see what was on the tv, but she could hear it. She had the fastest fingers you would ever see. She had to change the batteries each month due to the *click click click click click* it was wild. And if she was at your house, she'd take the remote and start clicking away! Just hope that you weren't watching anything important. LOL!
Hey, there, does anyone have the recipe for that lemon pie of Granny's. I know it had eagle brand milk but I've never had the recipe. I know my son-in-law would love it 'cause lemon pie is his favorite. Remember walking in the back door and smelling that Granny was cooking cabbage! Never cared much for turnips but I did love the greens and her cabbage and her wonderful cornbread and red beans!! Granddaddy use to mash up my beans for me and I think he did it too for Lala, Moma and Bula. And of course, Grandaddy loved to grab a bite off your plate!!You know, they say you can't go home again but in reading these memories and also writing my own, YES YOU CAN!!! Love, Jody
I have the Eagle Brand Milk Lemon pie recipe!!! Lucky us. Email me if you want a copy.
Candy
cushtucker@yahoo.com
Hi guys! Mom always said that Granddaddy mashed up her beans until she went away to college! Tee, hee!
I know I'm late, but maybe not too late....I can remember Aunt Fay holding a stew pan over her head in the rain to go out and roll up her car windows. While she was out there, it started hailing, so she got a few dents in the pan.
Cathy and I used to sit on Aunt Fay's back steps and eat Miracle Whip and cheese sandwiches.....oh, they were good!
When I was pretty small, I called Catherine on the phone (LI9-2029)every day and talked for at least an hour. I don't know how she was so patient with me and had so many things to talk about.
It's true that they both were just the sweetest women ever! We were so lucky to have them in our lives!
I guess we've got all the people who want to add something in BUT I have a few more add-ons. Kay & I use to spend Sat. mornings at Granny's (Mom worked at the Court House till 12 noon on Sats.) WE WERE THE STARTERS OF THE BARREL WALKERS!!! We started with the small orange barrel and worked up to the big trashbarrels. What fun they were. We also had a wonderful playhouse in Grandaddy's garage. We didn't play house, we had ADVENTURES!!! We usually were beautiful ladies escaping from pirates, etc. We killed Granny's Maple tree getting branches off for our swords. (She never said a word) I have a photo of us having "coffee" with breakfast (Dr. Pepper) outside with the card table up. She spoiled us rotten!!! In front of the garage there were always "doodle-bug" holes. We thought that great fun to get them out. We had "names" too, Denise and Angelique I think. You'd have to ask Kay, but I know Denise was one of them. I really feel sorry for people that didn't have grandparents or aunts that they were close to. Do you know what happens when you mix vinegar and baking soda? Kay and I do. We were so very lucky. Love you all, Jody
It's me again. Did any of you hike to Standpipe Mt. with Lala? I have pictures of she and I and Rex Lee Repass and Blanche but I really don't remember that. I think that she took some of the cousins up there with me another time but I don't know if it was Bill or Wade or Candy & Susan. When Lala Had her broken foot and I stayed at the apartmemt with her, she had a bell she rang like crazy in the middleof the night to wake me up. And like Keri said earlier, that woman had the fastest fingers in the world when it came to the TV remote. When I was little she played paper dolls with me and I think the dolls we used were either hers & Moma's or Bula's. It was the Montgomery Ward catalog & and we had hundreds of paper dolls in it. And I loved to look at her GASOLINE ALLEY scrapbook. I loved to read the funnies because she taught me how much fun they were. I think I got my love of books from Lala & Moma. They always said I loved mysteries because Moma read mysteries while carrying me. I did with Keri, too, but she likes the really weird mysteries, Stephan King, etc. and he scares me. At least we just read them and don't commit them!!! LOL Jody
This is one sent from Aunt Bula....
I have Lala's rolled up magazine full of paper dolls. I don't
know what happened to mine but I remember the day she and Pat taught me how to play paperdolls and I guess I started my collection then. It was a rainy day, I was in first grade and they were taking a post graduate business course and we stayed home and made a house on Mama's multi layer dresser. We used powder boxes etc. for furniture and made stairs out of strips of folded paper. Don't know what Collie was doing that day-probably drawing Dick Tracy-but he never went to school if I was staying home. What fun!
I think I was at Granny and Lala's with the chicken pox. If not, I had something cause I remember I had that green,red and gold blanket on me while I was on the sofa. My memory is bad and I can't tell you who else was in the room, but we saw what we all though was a little brown leaf in Lala's bedroom doorway. Granny looked and looked at it, went over to it, bent down, got a tissue out of her housecoat pocket and snatched it up. It was a baby mouse. ICK!
The woman was deadly! LOL!
We all (whoever was there) just kinda sat there with our mouths hanging open. Granny threw it away and sat back down. LOL!
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