Cornbread for the Soul

By D. J. McCarty

Feeling trapped in a lineage of hard-working laborers a displaced young womans buoyancy and the hard teaching from her adopted mother causes her to dare to dream of an enriched lifestyle. Ultimately, the one thing that brought her solace during her most challenging life experiences becomes the catalyst to help fulfill her destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781449760113

D. J. McCarty

D.J. McCarty resides in the Southeast. Motivated by her desire to share unique life experiences, she tells stories, writes songs and poems with a message to inspire humanity. Driven by a strong belief in “giving back,” she undertakes advocacy to support others in achieving self-actualization.

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Copyright © 2014 D. J. McCarty.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-6010-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-6011-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013913608

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/14/2014

CONTENTS

The Truth Be Told

A Wish Ajar

When Momma Speaks

A Sweeping Start

Weathered Friends

Welcome New Year!

My Cousin And I

Love Of My Life

Leaving The Past Budding Forward

Generating New Life

Everything Must Change

Fun In Farming

Tea Time

The Mystery Of Christmas!

The Gift

The Principle Of Innovation

Dedicated to Mom

Luke 5:4 Launch out into the deep,

and let down your nets for a draught. (KJV)

A CIRCUMSTANTIAL ENCOUNTER

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D eep in the Southern lowcountry region Lula Pearl Johnson sat quietly under the ceiling fan on her porch. Four huge propellers circulated the humid August air. Goose bumps suddenly formed on her skin from the touch of the gentle breeze. Plunging her hand into her keepsake box she stirred the treasures of the previous years. Lula Pearl was searching for material belongings that went along with her reminiscence. She unfolded a script that read, When we are born we don’t have the concept of other people, but the point in life is not to always get. It is through God, people and experiences that we learn to appreciate the truth that because of His extensive generosity and grace towards us, we don’t have to examine whatever we choose to do for others to see if it passes what some may think. All of us want to live well, but our main struggle should be to help others people live well. It made her appreciate the circumstances of the path that her life had taken.

Following a brief pause to embrace the sunlight, with a smile she leaned forward to answer the ringing telephone. Hello grandma. Her granddaughter Cheyenne greeted her with exuberance as she usually did whenever they spoke. Their conversation took Lula Pearl on the journey of her life.

It was not long after delivering Lula Pearl Gardner that her mother Allison Gardner married Henry Wiggins, the son of Ella Wiggins, a wise caring teacher and pillar of the community. No extravagant planning efforts went into their engagement or marriage ceremony. Any girl who became pregnant outside of marriage was labeled ruined; therefore it made no sense in creating a big deal about an untimely wedding.

Allison’s striking features were similar to those of the famous movie star Dorothy Dandridge. Her personality on the other hand was somewhat introversive which was apparent by her ability to sit in one spot for hours with no urgency to talk to anyone. She had no close friends to share her intimate thoughts and experiences.

Viola Gardner believed that "a child should be seen and not heard." This attitude hindered her from providing encouragement by talking things out with her daughter.

Allison’s capacity to fit in with most children her age was overshadowed by her battle with low self-esteem. The last memory she had of playing with her cousins happened to be the day that she was coaxed into relinquishing her womanly gift by acting on a dare. In one instance she learned how babies were made, while at the same time she fulfilled her hopes to one day have a child. After living with four boys for years she became obsessed—praying that she would have a baby girl.

All the same, her brothers, Hunter, Dusty, Richard and Billy were the closest people that she had to communicate with. Whenever time allowed them to steal away for a moment of make believe they would. Humoring her they became unwilling pupils in her classroom doing all the things rebellious students were expected to do. Otherwise they behaved as brothers are supposed to, by lovingly giving her a tough time about sucking her thumb.

At this stage in her life, Allison’s schedule of cooking for her brothers, cleaning the house, running the small store from the front of their home and studying for school left little time for much more. As the sole provider for her five children, Allison’s mother, went to work each day cleaning housed leaving her in charge.

Now that she was expecting, Allison could often be found sitting quietly. Rubbing her protruding belly button as she gained comfort from sucking her right thumb she waited for customers. Occasionally, she peeked out of the opened half of the door to make sure she saw the next customer before they saw her. Today she would meet the person who caused her life to forever change.

Allison had heard of the Wiggins family and had randomly seen Henry around town; however that was as far as she cared to entertain the thought of him. Although she resented people for judging, Allison was now guilty of doing the very same thing. She was judging Henry based on what she had heard about him. She formed the opinion that he was a young arrogant boy, and not at all interesting. I wouldn’t give him the time of day, she thought. She wrestled with the idea of him being someone she’d find appealing even though she would sooner than later find out the truth; that he was tall, dark, and charming.

Well, as fate would have it, in the first encounter Henry and Allison had, he inadvertently captured her attention.

THE TRUTH BE TOLD

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F ollowing the stock market crash in October of 1929 the 1930s began with a veil of gloom that led the Country into a condition of hardship. The established America was oblivious of the magnitude of challenges it would now be facing. Many businesses and farms were lost in default which caused the average family to be left to survive on the bare essentials. Because of the century’s volatile beginning, the period engrafted toughness into the citizens. It gave birth to a time of major creativity in an effort to make their survival worthwhile.

Viola Gardner bought wholesale snacks from Mr. Curly, a soft spoken Anglo traveling salesman. His most noticeable feature was a beauty mole located on the right side of his face that stuck out for nearly a half inch. It was the first thing that Billy and Dusty Gardner paid attention to whenever he came around. The children sometimes imitated him by placing a wad of chewed up paper on their cheeks when their mother wasn’t looking.

Mr. Curly commonly tried to peddle some type of household product before Viola Gardner was able to have what interest her. Taking a moment to window shop she and her two young sons peered inside of the vehicle stacked with sales goods.

Suddenly the door pushed open as Mr. Curly exited his vehicle nearly striking Viola Gardner on her thigh. He unapologetically made his way out and found something to try to convince her to buy. Only after his sales pitch did Mr. Curly pull out the grayish eight by eleven, three inches deep box full of an assortment of candy. Mrs. Gardner’s typical response was to turn him down. She felt certain about her goal. You could almost hear her; I wish he would just hand me the box of candy and move on. She never had the nerves to say anything though. That was probably due to the fear that he would no longer allow her to get the items that she needed on credit. So she usually just stood there acting as if she was listening. After the long sales pitch to sway her that she had to have what he was selling she responded, Not today sir. At the rejection he let her know the next time he was expected to be back. Alright then Ms. Gardner. Well I’ll be back in four weeks. That would be around July 1st. I should have some table cloths you might be interested in. Then he relinquished the candy box from the trunk of his car. She in turn sold those products retail to subsidize their household income.

On a hot summer’s day after dunking a basketball through a bicycle rim nailed to the trunk of an old oak tree, Henry Wiggins and his friends chose Allison Gardner’s family store to get a supply of candy and soda pop to quench a sweet tooth. In route to get the replenishment they craved the youngmen stopped near a puddle to collectively count their change. Suddenly the fast movement of a water bug momentarily distracted them. For a split second immaturity prevailed as they splashed water on each other, attempting to capture the creature. While the friends indulged in getting wet as they played around, Allison observed undercover. Watching as the boys played, she felt a little envious of their ability to be so carefree. It made her wish she had friends to partake in the same kind of fun, when she’d had the chance.

Immediately after Henry and his buddies were through having fun, he remembered his sweet tooth thus moving forward with them quickly joining him. At the moment that he lifted his head looking forward; his eyes caught sight of her. Henrys’ body was drawn as if it were caught in a current pulling him into the sea of love. The experience put some truth to the saying that a man is moved by his eyes. The youngman then hastily composed himself, buttoning four of the five buttons on his plaid shirt. He brushed off and started walking without exposing his impulsive plan to impress the beautiful person that his eyes had now fastened on.

Henry thoughtlessly shoved his nearest comrade, Matt to a distance, as he teased, Come on man, yawl stop playing, stop being so childish. In a moment of egotistical indulgence, he suddenly began acting superior to his mates making his way towards the booth into the presence of the young woman.

Promptly standing up to her feet Allison gazed at the boys with transparent eyes that implied, please don’t waste my time. What yawl want? She snarled.

Henry, now in close proximity to her, was speechless. Standing close to him counting his money again, his pal Matt glimpsed across his left shoulder at Henry wondering what was his problem. To keep the process moving so they could satisfy their thirst he interjected, Four orange Nehi’s and a root beer.

Henry remained motionless; watching every movement of the young woman’s swollen aching body. After selecting the other items from their order she hastily placed them on the counter. The thirsty friends quickly popped the caps off their drinks and began unremittingly drinking. Out of the blue, between breaths and gulping orange Nehi pop, Henry asked Allison, How did you get that way?

Gulp! Matt swiftly swallowed hard. Pah! Rubin anxiously blew orange fizz that had foamed in his throat, gushing to his mouth, from his lips. The fellas started giggling in uncomfortable disbelief at Henry having the audacity to ask that sarcastic question. A chain reaction of elbowing rippled from the boys nearly causing Rubin to choke.

Quickly Allison retaliated by dramatically rolling her neck and directly staring-down the lads asking, How do you thiNK?

Matt defensively returned, Hey I wasn’t the one who said that.

On the other hand, it instantaneously sparked something in Henry that caused him to want to make a deeper connection with Allison. He immediately became fascinated with the soon-to-be mother. After coming across her that day, Henry began spending less time with his buddies to demonstrate his faithfulness. Each day consequently he showed up at Allison’s home moving boxes, lifting or doing anything she needed help with. Sometimes she invented tasks for him just to test his patience.

As time went by, their conversations grew into enjoyable and entertaining dialogues. The fact that Allison was physically attractive undoubtedly was a helpful part in him keeping his self-imposed commitment.

Making a living

There was a rumor floating around the small close-knit agricultural town of Stutch. The rumor was that the absent father of the child Allison was carrying was of Native American descent from the Sioux tribe. You could say that she met him through family and friends. Allison found the mystery of whom he was and where he came from interesting. His strong facial features captured her attention, though she initially found his large ears to be amusing. His smooth glossy dark skin, accentuated by his almond shape eyes, prominent cheekbones and strong nose, was endearing.

The encounter the two had resulted from the locals coming together to share crops as well as learn about living off the land. It made a world of difference for families due to the growing economic difficulties that the country was experiencing during the great depression. This time the girls came across the young man’s familiar face as they were leaving a campground where a diversified group of people gathered each year to celebrate the winter solstice. The curious females began innocently flirting as a tease to see which of them he would fall for. Their erroneous thinking led them to believe that the girl he chose would be validated as being the one that was most grownup. After several intriguing hours, the young women had come to the realization that Allison was his preference. The jealous girls then instituted a dubious challenge which they were persuaded would level the playing field; if Allison fell for it. So they whispered in Allison’s ears, and then they pushed Allison up saying, I would. If it were me, I would.

Frightened yet determined to prove herself Allison shyly went off deep into the broom grass with her new romantic interest. When she returned her sun kissed skin was pale. The blood was drawn from her face. She declined to speak of what happened, however in months to come it became obvious.

Lying in bed on a windy March day, Allison felt what seemed like butterflies in her stomach. At each onset of the weird jittery feeling she quickly rubbed her abdomen. She desperately tried to make her inside feel more stable. As the weeks progressed, she grew more uneasy when she found it impossible to keep any food down. Her mother wondered what was going on with Allison, yet she avoided asking. Instead she passed it off to be symptoms of the flu. If Mrs. Gardner had only inquired, perhaps Allison would have opened up to inform her of the new developments. On the contrary, she handled things as she usually did by rejecting the thought of a problem.

Several months had passed when, Allison’s prenatal development brought on cravings for fresh vegetables, plenty of dairy products and more than usual sweets. When her mother could no longer deny the fact that Allison was in the family way, she made certain that her daughter ate the proper foods for her condition.

In December, when everyone was preparing for Christmas, Allison was growing tired in each passing moment. She was getting closer to her delivery date. The fifteenth of the month, Allison’s baby finally came and she named her Lula Pearl Gardner. When the beautiful little girl came from her mother, her skin was exceptionally hairy and ruddy. Allison appeared kind of apprehensive although there was no doubt that she loved her child. Her love came across clearly to anyone looking in her eyes when she held her newborn. She wanted to be the best parent possible; however due to her immaturity and inexperience she struggled to nurture little Lula Pearl. Allison second guessed her ability to meet all of her child’s needs in order to give her a better chance in life.

During the time that the country was experiencing a downturn, Allison was experiencing hiccups as a single parent. Oddly enough she had seen it done before. Her own mother was the prime example. She became mother and father after her husband left home to be with another woman and her children.

On Allison’s behalf having Henry in her life also assured her that it was possible to successfully be done. He found the daunting task to be fun. Henry started faithfully visiting Allison and little Lula Pearl taking time away from work and trying to finish school. The couple’s courtship had been an unusual one; even so Henry courted Allison until they married on the eighth day of June.

Traditions

The wedding day of Allison and Henry actually was when she was officially introduced to members of Henry’s family.

Henry’s aunt from Philadelphia found her way to the room where Allison was meticulously getting ready and went in to calm the bride-to-be nerves. She immediately introduced herself making it known who she was. Extending her right hand to Allison, she said, Hi I’m Blondell, but you can call me Aunt Blondie.

At first glance, Henry’s aunt approved of the nice looking young woman, but there was something that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Why are you wearing that pink gown, why aren’t you wearing white darling? She flooded Allison with questions.

In attempt to answer without really knowing what to say Allison timorously responded, They told me I couldn’t.

Aunt Blondie shot back, Who is they and why did they tell you such a thing?

Allison just stared for the lack of a rational response.

The last minute visitor caused the young woman to have second thoughts about her appearance. Now feeling uncomfortable with herself she picked up the hot curler and chucked it onto the hot plate. She had suddenly changed her mind from wearing her hair straight to now wanting it to be curly.

Aunt Blondie could see the girl’s countenance change. Realizing that she had caused more harm than good, she attempted to fix the damage she had done. In a more pleasant tone she said, I meant no harm by questioning you about your dress. It’s just that up North in Philadelphia; we wear what we want, not based on some old-fashion traditions. You should be dressed like a real bride. You’re a beautiful girl, my nephew is lucky to have you. After all you only get married for the first time once.

The timing of the unsolicited information that Aunt Blondie had given Allison, was far from perfect. Now musing and moping Allison’s speed tremendously slowed down. An hour late wearing her pale pink handmade gown, Allison followed her bridesmaids out of her mother’s front door across the porch. She carefully stepped down the three tiers onto a small patch of green grass. The space was not far from the spot where dried up mud had taken the place of the puddle.

The bridesmaids were her cousin Janet, and her neighbor, Helen. They led the processional wearing gowns that were fuchsia on top and purple from the waist down. The maid of honor, Arletha, Janet’s sister, wore a similar gown; the full-length fuchsia polyester gown gathered at the waist and tied in the back. The gowns were all quickly handmade at the last minute by Ms. Maggie, a friend of Mrs. Gardner. She insisted that Allison had to have a decent ceremony and offered to use some remnant material that she had from two other weddings.

Matt came out dressed in his black single breasted two button suit with large peaked lapels, a white buttoned up shirt and a striped tie. He was gently sweating from the heat of the day. The soft curl locks at the edge of his hairline had collapsed to look like dark lace traced around his forehead. Until that day, no one had any idea how handsome he was. It was the first time Henry had seen him take something so seriously. He, along with the eldest of Allison’s brothers, Hunter, and Henry’s other friend Rubin, came down the imaginary isle to wait for the bridesmaids.

Henry’s jovial buddy was for once, able to keep a straight face, appearing very sincere as he showed the groomsmen how to stand at attention.

The crowd formed a huge circle around the wedding party to witness