Blue Ribbon Memories - Spending Treasure

I saw the grocery sacks there on the porch as soon as I turned into the driveway to visit my folks. I was fairly sure I knew what was in the bags without even giving it much thought. Once out of my car and up the steps of their front porch, I saw I was correct about it being garden vegetables. I knew immediately who had most likely brought them.

My mom and dad's neighbor has brought them beautiful vegetables from his garden for several years now...probably ever since my parents quit having a garden of their own. I had gone to grade school and high school with this neighbor and he and my brother were good friends. It warmed my heart that he still thought of my mom and dad every summer. It also warmed my heart that he had never left our childhood neighborhood.

I picked up the sack and walked into the house. "Look what I found!" I exclaimed to my mom. "DG must have brought them when you were gone." I placed the bag on the kitchen table taking a peak inside the bag to see what he brought.

"Look at those beans, Mom! Not only does he know how to grow them, he knows how to pick them."

There in the bag were some blue ribbon beans, if I have ever seen blue ribbon beans! They had beautiful color and size; they were uniform and without blemish. I smiled at his success. Also in the bags were a few cucumbers, red potatoes and some white.

Every time I drive by this neighbor's house, I am simply amazed. He and his lovely wife, (also someone from my grade school) have the most beautiful garden I have ever seen. It is hearty and strong, well cared for and meticulously groomed. His plants are always twice the size of anyone else's; and truthfully, his garden is simply a site to behold. My own garden does not even come close!

The fact is; I am proud of my folks’ neighbor! His accomplishments, of course, are not mine to be proud; but every time I see his garden, it is such a piece of nostalgia for me.  It’s a reminder of who we were growing up and what we did. It’s a wonderful memory of childhood, and what our neighborhood was like. We had the best gardens around, hands down. We were proudly “the country bumpkins” and growing large, necessary vegetable gardens - in their spare time - was what our folks did.

Someone obviously learned well from his dad, I have often thought. And maybe I too quickly give credit to my classmate only, when I know his wife (who was a year younger than us) also grew up in a family that had beautiful gardens every year.

“He will be bringing us some corn, soon, I’m sure!” my mom knowingly explained…and I noticed in her voice just a bit of her own pride for this man she had watched grow up from just a little tyke, continuing decades later into his retirement! Now, that’s some serious time.

My dad heard the commotion in the kitchen and walked out to see what was going on.  He picked up a cucumber from the table. “Hmm, hmm, look at that cuke!” he said chomping his teeth and smiling with anticipation for a fresh garden vegetable. “Must have been DG”, he proudly informed us. “I wonder when he was here...”

 

Not even close - but pretty doggone tasty just the same.