Things

I'm not big on 'things'. My car is crap, my TV is 19 inch, my cd player is circa 1990, and don't even ask about my speakers. But my favorite 'thing' in the whole entire world is my grandmother's antique salt jar. It is clear with a verticle stripe pattern and says, simply, "SALT". If the place were to be burning down, the one thing I'd be holding shivering naked amidst the firemen is my salt jar.

I cannot quite pinpoint just what it means to me. But it mostly brings back memories of Minie's kitchen. That's right...Minie. Her name was Wilmina and my brother couldn't quite pronounce that. Minie just oozed with love for us. My dad was an only child, so the three of us were her only grandchildren. And make that just two for the first seven years of my life.

The salt jar lived beneath her stove top, which was built into the cabinetry. It stayed on a shelf that pulled out on hinges. It now lives on my faux marble cabinet top next to the knives and the pepper grinder.

She'd pull it out when frying up an amazing batch of chicken, putting a roast in for Sunday dinner, or making the ever sacred....Noodles. Not a lot of people know about noodles. It has something to do with midwest farm hand cooking and Germanic relatives. (Although I'm not even sure I've got any of these.) In the south I suppose you'd call them dumplins, in the northeast pasta. And I'm pretty sure they just don't exist west of the Rockies. But noodles are basically flour, egg, milk and salt (from the salt jar) kneaded together into a ball..Rolled out very thin..And cut into thin strips. Then, you dunk them into some yummy chicken or turkey stock..And VOILA...NOODLES.

My cousins beg me for them every Thanksgiving and Christmas. (My cousins from my mom's side know noodles too...Remember? I don't have any on my dad's side.) And every Thanksgiving and Christmas...I produce them.

And every Thanksgiving and Christmas I think about Minie and how very much she loved us. And how she made plain rolls and cinnimon rolls for every nice dinner. And how she always made a chocoloate meringue pie for my brother. How she made 'floppy bacon' for me and 'crispy bacon' for my brother. And how she let me play with the sugar in the sugar bowl...and get it all over the table. And how she would play Old Maid and Pig with us for hours....And was always the Old Maid or the Pig. How she submitted to my grandfather's tyrannical ruling of a household.

She taught us well. She taught us self sacrifice for others. She taught us how joyous it is do to something nice for someone else. She taught us to enjoy the simple things. She taught us love.

So, I guess that's why my favorite 'thing' on the whole entire planet is my beloved Minie's salt jar. Cause it is just so infused with love that it has become something different altogether. Please bury me with it. Oh yeah - I want to be creamated and glass doesn't burn. Oh well, you guys figure it out.