Tucked Granny in at the rehab residence then went on off to a hoop-de-doo in honor of a young fella gittin' hitched.
This boy is in his 30s and grew up in our parts--why I reckon he had many a plate of cookies and milk at Aunty's on his way to manhood. One day he stood in mah kitchen an' promised he wouldn't marry no missy that he din't bring by fer Aunty's once-over. An' y'all, he did.
Anyhoo, the evenin' was so lovely even the croaky frog sang sweet. The young fella's Mama and Daddy live now on a lake in the city that look like legions of gnomes wif' maniucure scissors snip through the night jes' so when the sun come up the lawn and borders is worthy of Monet.
This young fella is late outa the gate when it comes to nuptials, so thar's high happiness in the air round his mama and daddy's place. This were that natural conviviality--ya know-- wif' a relaxed posture ya always see when several generations of folks who done known each other since knee britches get together. The purty young women were the ones boys brought home to Mama finally, and the young men wuz the ones a girl thought would make her Daddy proud. The settlement. Them flower filled rooms lookin' over a sunset painted terrace were filled wif' marriages an' engagements. Not one "relationship" in the bunch. This was a gathering of the committed-for-the-long-haul.
Mebbe thas' why I noticed what the subtext were: Them handsome, healthy maned young lions warn't struttin', but leanin' on the ole' baldin' lions.
Young Cats wif' shiny MBAs an' Tripple A resumes built up in Chicago, Boston and Zurich... but fear had 'em by the throat. They ain't never seen no economy like this, an' never thought the ugly word "unemployment" would smudge up their future.
"I'se a TARP II refugee" laughed one, while another, a gun-slinger assest manager, describe his current job as "personal asset reassessment."
Among the guests were a beloved former high school football coach--a man who coached these kids in much more than a spread offense. I seen him put his meaty paw on the back of one young neck and give a shake, "thar's a time when when ya' make jes' six inches through the mud, son. A good quarterback knows when to throw long an' when to tuck the ball an put his haid down. This ain't yore last game."
Another counseled, " Now, looky,Beau, thangs do come round again--why me an the Mrs. wuz like you an' your bride, onc't. We thought Laissez les bon temps roulez"wuz our theme song. Then we got our chops busted in the Carter years when recession meant 19 % interest rates. My britches wuz draggin' the gound jes' like yor'n is now. Know what? we hung tight--to each other. We learnt how to live on 70% of what we made even in the fat years. An we's stuck wif' that plan. Next time this bust cycle rears up like Jaws, youse gonna be long gone up in the dunes. Only the suckers will still be out to catch a wave."
In a corner by the coffee urn, lookin' over the rim of his Drambuie spiked cup, a retired merger specialist squeezed a flat-belly's bicep, "How else ya gonna know what's inside of ya' iffin' ya ain't ever had a bloodied nose? These grey hairs ain't free ya' know. "
Aunty saw grizzled ole geezers pat young backs-- seasoned men, worriet about they own life's work--encourage the young pups, not wif' happy talk, but wif hope based on hard work an' frugal habits, the courage to base their future on themselves an' they own clans and community.
"Git local," advised one grey haid. "Make yore place among yore own an' be thar' fer 'em. In the end, none of us lives globally, we live heah. Ya always need to take care of home base."
Ya know, thar is somethin' very allurin' about a man who knows the score.
*
*
10 comments:
Spoiled yutes whine to Troll:
"Times are hard, what should I do?"
Troll's club is hard too.
Very well-written. I guess if I knew for a FACT they were decent Christian young men, I would behave like the human lions in your story.
Otherwise, I'd view them as REAL lions view young male interlopers. Or as the Troll in Haiku Master's poem does.
Lovely Aunty,
There is always a message within the message within the message in your stories. I like this one quite a bit.
I especially like the bit about in the realities we don't live globally, we live local and yep, that is a fine place to focus.
Glad you had a fine outing while others were looking after Granny.
Well done as always Aunty. I wish that young couple well.
It's just that ... I was newly wed getting my chops busted in the double digit Reagan years. Certainly was good times then for the old lions who where earning interest on their savings while we pups tried to find a mortgage under 13 percent.
It all cycles I suppose, and the politicians are not so different across the party lines.
Troll,
these young men is ones you'd approve fer Trolldom--fellas who worked hard, studied hard an who prepared for the world they thought they would enter--the seismic shift is rumblin' under they feets, ya know? They ain't got no context fer such, since they own daddies ain't dealt wif' it in the boys'30 year memory--what is the reference point?
Fishy,
I'se readin' omnivoire's Dilemma--eve'rwhar folks is wakin' up to the goodness of LOCAL. Take care of, be loyal to, make you place in the LOCAL.
Good story. We forget, in the inward-looking ways of youth, that we have role models all around us. We should mine those resources more often.
Troll, with all due respect, you don't have to be Christian to be decent, hard-working, and to possess integrity and grit :o). Religion does not have a monopoly on ethical behavior.
FC, I hear ya. I warn't makin' no particular political statement--jes' notin' how the ole fellas meant to buck up the faintin' hearts of the young who have no experience at it yet--as I imagine that the ole fellas OWN daddies did back in the day.
It's the runnin' alongside with the baton a wee bit longer til the man-boy has a good grip afore ya turn loose.
Moi, amen.
Ya knows mah religious persuasion but I agrees wif' ya that a person of little or no faith can be ethical. After all, true thangs come from The Truth, an' jes' cause ya doan know the source doan mean ya cain't recognize fundamental truth of what makes good ethics--defined by a broad "do unto others" template.
Exactly, Aunty. Humankind has been grappling with issues of right and wrong long before Christian ideals were codified. (BTW, my persuasion is the same as yours, if a little lapsed.)
I always try to keep this quote from Andrew Sullivan, from his book The Conservative Soul in mind in my dealings with people: "In [a} nonfundamentalist understanding of faith, practice is more important than theory, love more important than law, and mystery is seen as an insight into truth rather than an obstacle. This is the Christianity that the conservative clings to; and it is a form of Christianity the fundamentalist rejects . . . it is the great lie of our time that all religious faith has to be fundamentalist to be valid. There is another way."
Yep, Moi, youse on it--after all, even St. Paul tole the Areopagites that they had it party right even wif' nobody afore hom to evangelize 'em---
I sees it as so simple: we's made in the image of God, so it goes to show that ever' now an' again' we does the right thang cause it feels right even when we doan know the source.
BTW, that is one of AS's better quotes--an' he is one of those who knows that he knows he knows, but still runs when it conflicts with his lesser urges.
Great story. Trolls can be cynical in these times and I can understand thier reluctance to take Generation Why seriously. But I'll take your word that your local youth are decent people and it's touching that they still respect their elders.
On the flip side, I am reminded of the immortal words of Rodney Dangerfield when he said, "Now I know why tigers eat their young!"
Post a Comment