Mother to Son

 by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. 

Jane Shelby 
1864-1954

It had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.

Unknown Location in Jasper County, Texas
Photo by Alonzo Jordan 

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.

Unknown Children
Photo by Alonzo Jordan 

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

Louisa Jordan Wife of Isaac “Ike” Limbrick 
1846-1939

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

 Dinner On The Ground

There is nothing more southern than dinner-on-the-ground. These potluck get togethers were held yearly and were usually a part of the church homecoming celebration. Family and friends returned home from faraway places to join the festivities. It was a special occasion; a feast for the soul and the stomach. 

As a child in Southeast Texas, I grew up with dinner-on-the-ground at Dixie Missionary Baptist Church in the Dixie Community of rural Jasper County. Every year, the families whose ancestors had been a part of the church for decades gathered in the church for a sermon and singing. After the service, we poured out of the church and gathered under the surrounding shade trees. Permanent wood tables, built from scraps of lumber and often held up by sawhorses, were laden with a feast that would feed the entire community. Almost any southern dish you could name was likely to be found: Fried chicken, ham, chicken and dumplings, black eyed peas, turnip greens, potato salad, green beans, cornbread dressing, and more. But we all couldn’t wait to get to the dessert table: Pound cake, peach and blackberry cobbler, pecan pie, banana pudding, sweet potato pie, and jelly cake to name a few. And at the end of the last table were jugs of sweet tea wash it all down. 

Dinner-on-the-ground isn’t what it used to be. The fellowship is still there and families still gather, but most meals are served inside air conditioned church activity centers. The food is different as well. There are more store bought and restaurant prepared items. Nothing can replace those old fashioned outdoor dinner-on-the-ground homecomings.