I recently retold the following story and it continues to strike me as one of the most bizarre experiences I've ever had. Let me preface it by saying that all of the people mentioned were very dear people (both main characters have since died).
The year was, um, 1979, I think. Ron and I had just gotten engaged and over the Thanksgiving holiday he took me to meet his grandma and assorted aunts, uncles and cousins. We drove out to the farm the day after T-Day and were greeted by Ron's grandma, who was dressed in a sleeveless shirt, wielding a double bit axe. She was out chopping wood for the wood stove, which she used to cook on and heat one of the two rooms in her log cabin. Mind you, it didn't look like a log cabin on the outside; it had some kind of tar paper shingles over it. But it was a bonafide log cabin. The two rooms had been joined together by a hallway with a bathroom sometime in the 60's I think. Up until then, an outhouse had been employed.
We walked into the kitchen/living room/bedroom and it was pretty small. The kitchen was along one wall and the dining room table dominated the room. I don't recall a couch or any kind of other "comfy" chair. The other room in the cabin was just a big room with a bunch of beds and maybe a couch. And another wood stove. That's where all the kids slept. All NINE of them. Actually, a couple slept upstairs in the attic. Ron says he remembers putting his clothes under the mattress during the winter so they wouldn't freeze and also remembers waking up some mornings with snow on the quilts.
After a spell, Ron's Uncle Billy and cousin came in from trapping 'coons. Uncle Billy had a beard (no mustache), a missing tooth or two and a farm hat that had been put to good use for many years. He reached for the fifth of Wild Turkey and took a long swig, then handed it to his son, who did likewise. Yep. I was waaaaay out of my element.
Lunch (dinner, as they call it) was out of control. Turkey. Ham. Tons of vegetables. Homemade bread and gravy. Really, really good. I sat down to the table and right away noticed I was the only female seated. Grandma and the aunts and girl cousins were up fussing over the men and didn't sit down to eat until they had cleared out. Again, out of my element.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any more awkward Ron and I stepped out on the back porch to find his cousin, Kurt, holding on the the hind legs of a 'coon while his dad pulled the skin off it. So far out of my element . . . I couldn't decide whether to stay on the porch and try not to lose my lunch (dinner) or go back inside and prove to be completely useless. In the end, I think Ron and I went for a walk.
After I got to know these people, I came to admire them for their work ethic, endurance and really kind hearts. What started out as culture shock eventually became a real lesson in life for me. And one Kate and Tyler got to share as well during summertime trips to the farm, where Kate ate loaves and loaves of jelly bread and Tyler ate some squirrel that his second cousin shot. They, too, were out of their element, but they loved every second of it!
