Billy Bob Thornton writes in his book The Billy Bob Tapes about a Southern delicacy his mom made frequently for Billy Bob's dying father. She crumbled up cornbread and served it in a glass of buttermilk. He would eat it with a spoon. Billy Bob was seventeen when his father was diagnosed with lung cancer, the "kind you get from asbestos." Billy Bob would carry his father to the dinner table, and he said he looked like a holocaust victim as his health deteriorated.
My dad was also raised in a rural area, albeit Iowa, not Arkansas. Dad loved to cut up Wonder Bread in a cereal bowl, pour milk over it, sprinkle on some sugar, and sit down and watch Johnny Carson with me before going off to bed. Mom did not need such a sleep aid. She'd be snoring in her chair in the living room, while Dad and I watched Johnny's show. Our favorite Tonight Show guests were George Goble, Buddy Hackett, and Don Rickles, but there were many others we enjoyed, too (Dad liked Goble; I liked Hackett and Rickles).
Did your parents have favorite food items that would be considered odd today?
3 comments:
Bob...almost every night of my childhood growing up in Northwest Louisiana, Mom would bake a black skillet of cornbread to go along with whatever the meal was.
Daddy worked hard. Went to work before us kids woke up often, and sometimes came home after we were in bed. But, he was normally at home just a little after 6 pm.
We all would eat...move to the den to watch TV...and Daddy would always bring the rest of the cornbread, and a carton of buttermilk...and a big empty glass with him. He'd crumble up the cornbread, and pour buttermilk over it in the glass. Then, he'd EAT IT WITH A SPOON, while us kids tried to enjoy watching Gomer Pyle, or sumpin'.
Always grossed me out.
Just sayin'...
Seems that I may have married my Father. My beloved wife of almost 34 years now does THE SAME DANG THING! And, she mixes up that putrid concoction right in front of me while looking at The Netflix.
Sigh...
Well, I must admit that my beloved Mrs., and my Daddy are as thick as thieves (and have always been since our youngster days).
I think it's a buttermilk lover thing.
They've conspired against me, to keep me grossed out for THE REST Of MY NATURAL LIFE!
Love 'em both. Forever.
Andy,
I personally do not know of a therapist who would have any expertise on the subject of eating WITH A SPOON crumbled up cornbread in buttermilk, but it doesn't really sound like you need one, anyway. It does, however, sound like a very powerful theme that has dominated your life story. We all have those, I think. As I think about it, it may be too much for the therapist to handle anyway... could cause one of them there breakdowns.
My grandfather ate that concoction until he died and he lived to the ripe old age of 94. Maybe there's something to it. Altho personally I'm with Andy...yuck and double yuck. My parents were into popcorn.
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