July 28 '01
Volume 269
The Peanut
Man Golden Anniversaries
I sort of grew up in the store business,
with my dad working for Kroger in the mid-forties and early fifties,
and later his becoming a partner with C.D. Austin to form Carter & Austin
Grocery. Though, I really did not have a true taste of life in a grocery
store until Dad put me to work in his store.
My introduction into the retail world came earlier than I would have chosen
for myself, but since I worked "cheap," Dad knew a good thing when he saw
it. Soon, my afternoons following a day at school and all of my Saturdays
were spent bagging groceries, dusting shelves, and stacking cans at Carter
& Austin Grocery. It's but another example of my being born at the wrong
time, and had my birth been a generation or so later, perhaps labor laws
would have prevented my pre-adolescent introduction into the grocery business.
Back then, Jimmy Munn worked for peanuts, Tom's Peanuts to be exact, and
he belonged to the group of vendors who regularly visited Dad's business.
He had begun working for peanuts three weeks before he married. Mr. Jimmy,
as I knew him, was a friendly sort, always eager to please a customer, and
the personification of a one-time "country boy" trying to improve his lot
in life. As I recall Mr. Jimmy grew up in Pontotoc County in or near the
communities of Longview and Bankhead, both of which are east of the city
of Pontotoc.
Growing up on a farm, following the Great Depression, was incentive enough
for many a youth to venture into the business world, not so much to escape
the rigors of farm life as to improve ones standard of living. I don't know
that such was the reason for Jimmy Munn to leave life on the farm, but I've
a strong hunch it was.
Entering my teen years, I found myself enjoying an ever-widening circle of
support at work, at school, and at church. Church, then as now, was First
Baptist Church Pontotoc. I remember Jimmy Munn as an encourager of the youth
of the church. He also served as my Training Union teacher about the time
I was a sophomore or junior in high school.
Though our attention spans were short and church doctrine did not have a
high learning priority for most of our class, Mr. Jimmy's patience somehow
allowed him to persevere. My children don't believe it, but Mr. Jimmy remembers
me as a model student in his class. I don't remember being a model anything,
but I appreciate hearing him recall those years.
Jimmy Munn still works for peanuts, except he is now the owner of a Tom's
distributorship, and his employees service much if not all of Pontotoc County
with those wonderful Tom's peanuts and snacks, snacks that I continue to
enjoy. After fifty years in the business, he's old enough to retire, and
he probably has enough savings to do him well into an advanced age, but he
keeps working, enjoying what he does.
Mr. Jimmy has given me cause to laugh on numerous occasions while he related
a humorous incident in his life, but my favorite harks back to a time he
was on an outing and had the occasion to use a public restroom. Having just
settled down on the seat of a toilet, he heard the sound of a woman's shoes
clicking on the ceramic tile and echoing off the walls of the enclosure.
Seeing her high-heeled shoes as she passed the closed privacy door of his
stall, he realized one of the two people occupying the restroom was in the
wrong place. Not wishing to frighten her and realizing she might be able
to see a man's slippers in an adjacent stall, Jimmy raised his legs until
his knees were about chin high, and there he kept them tightly wrapped in
his arms until the woman exited the restroom. He left shortly thereafter,
and, upon leaving, discovered he had been in the Ladies Room. I still get
a good laugh picturing the whole episode.
Jimmy Munn remains the same unassuming, down-to-earth sort of individual
I knew almost fifty years ago and is a faithful member of First Baptist Church.
Fifty years or so hence, anyone mulling over the "roll call" of the faithful
at FBC will no doubt observe the name of Jimmy Munn. There's only one of
him, but his name will be associated with varying roles of service, and as
with the peanut business, when it comes to serving his Lord through the local
church, Jimmy Munn still hasn't retired.
Note: Written on the occasion of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Jimmy
and Delores Munn.
Ice Cream The
Real Kind
As a child, an ice cream treat was a commodity rarely enjoyed by my family,
though electric refrigerators with freezer compartments had been around for
a few years. These modern wonders made it possible to keep sweet treats such
as ice cream on hand in ones own house, whereas only a few years prior, such
would have been out of the question.
I recall having some mixed emotions after learning of other children in my
age group having their tonsils removed. The thought of surgery was not very
appealing, but upon discovering that many children recuperating from
tonsillectomies were required to eat ice cream and/or chocolate bars, I became
envious of their condition and secretly longed to have my tonsils removed,
too. With every sore throat that came my way, I heard Mama speak of me having
my "tonsils out," but somehow I managed to evade the operation, and, to this
day, my tonsils are right where God put them.
Perhaps, had I been force-fed ice cream and chocolate after a tonsillectomy,
I might not even like either one of those sweets, today. As it is, I love
eating both of them, and can’t imagine life without either.
Much of the ice cream I enjoyed as a child was of the homemade variety. Some
of it was made from a powdered mix and frozen in ice trays in the freezer
of the family refrigerator. It wasn’t great, but it was less expensive
than store bought ice cream and more convenient than the conventional method
of making homemade ice cream. Most families had an ice cream freezer that
consisted of a wooden bucket and a metal canister. The canister held the
ice cream mixture and was fitted with an internal set of paddles and a hand
crank that stirred the mixture as it was being frozen. After the canister
was placed inside the larger wooden bucket and the hand crank attached, crushed
ice and rock salt were added to the space between the wooden bucket and the
canister, then the fun of "cranking" began.
Making the ice cream was really a job for adults, but often children joined
the fun during the early stages of cranking. As the ice cream mixture began
to freeze, stronger arms of adults were required to turn the crank. It all
seemed a slow process for a small child, but the wait, no matter how long,
was worth it.
If the family was in a hurry for the ice cream, once the handle became too
difficult to turn, the lid was removed and the paddles were pulled out of
the canister and given to which ever youngster had dibs of the first lick.
Soon afterwards, a semi-solid bit of heaven was ladled into small bowls and
served to the family.
If the ice cream were to be served later, it had to be packed. Proper packing
requires removing the paddles, draining off the water from the melting ice,
placing the canister back inside the bucket and packing more salt and ice
around the canister. Properly done, the packed ice cream will continue to
harden as it freezes and can be maintained for several hours.
Because such was mostly a summertime treat, once served, the ice cream melted
quickly in the heat. This compelled most eaters to eat their ice cream quickly,
in order to enjoy it before it melted. The result was often a condition called
"brain freeze" in which a sharp pain through the brain commands the eater
to hold off consumption for a minute or two. Personally, I’ve never
had that happen to me. Instead of brain freeze, the back of my throat may
hurt for a moment or two, compelling me to stop ingesting ice cream for a
half-minute or so.
I have long wanted an old fashioned, hand-cranked, ice cream freezer. Their
electric counterparts do an okay job of freezing ice cream and can be purchased
for around twenty dollars. I was all set to buy an old fashioned one last
year, until I priced a genuine, wooden bucket, hand-cranked White Mountain
6-quart model. Looking at a retail of $169.00, I lost much of my nostalgia
and decided I could buy eight electric models at Wal Mart each with a plastic
bucket, for the price of one White Mountain model. The cheaper model has
satisfied my need for an ice cream maker, but it has not fulfilled my need
to aesthetically rinse my soul in the old-fashioned hand-cranking method
of yesteryear.
Since the death of Mama in 1989, no one in my family wants to make homemade
ice cream, because it’s too much work. Mama worried over possible salmonella
contamination in the use of raw eggs called for in a popular recipe for homemade
ice cream. Instead, she cooked her mixture on the stovetop, essentially creating
a boiled custard that was then frozen. Mama’s ice cream was real ice
cream.
So, rather than laboring over the stove to make real ice cream, my family
has discovered a couple of substitutes that are almost as delicious. The
recipes are shared below.
Chocolate Ice Cream
12 1 and 3/4 oz. Milky Way bars cut into pieces.
1 14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk (Eagle Brand)
-
Quarts whole milk
-
5.5 oz. Can chocolate syrup
Place chopped candy bars and condensed milk in a large saucepan. Cook over
low heat, stirring until the candy melts. Cool…stirring occasionally.
Add 1 quart of milk
Stir or beat until well blended.
Pour mix into freezer and stir in the chocolate syrup.
Add the rest of the milk to the mix and start the freezer.
Easy Vanilla Ice Cream
-
14 oz. Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
-
Regular size Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
-
12 oz. Container Cool Whip
3 12 oz. Cans Cream Soda
Empty two cans of Cream Soda into a suitable sized mixing bowl and add the
Vanilla Pudding Mix, stirring until the mix is dissolved.
Add the condensed milk and rinse out the can with the third can of cream
soda, combining all.
Pour the liquid mixture into the freezer, stir in the cool whip, and start
the freezer.
Note; For variety, try various flavors of pudding mixes and carbonated drinks.
My family enjoys adding mashed bananas, diced marischino cheeries, and crushed
pineapple to the base mixture, forming a combo named Banana Split Ice Cream.
Squash
Delight Reader Shares
Responses by readers to my request for meal ideas for one person were light,
to say the least. Powell Prewett, Jr. sent the following recipe and note.
Barbara (my wife, though Powell's wife is also a Barbara), prepared this
recently, and it was delicious.
Squash Casserole
Here's one of my favorite squash recipes, although it's not quick to prepare
and probably not considered for only one person's consumption. I never enjoyed
squash until after my college days.
4 to 5 Carrots
2 medium Onions (red, white, or sweet)
12 to 15 medium sized Yellow Squash
1 can condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
8 oz. Sour Cream
Crushed Red Pepper or 1 Jalapeno Pepper
1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm Herb Dressing Mix
Sliver carrots with grater, slice and quarter onions, slice squash with grater
and place in covered pot to parboil for about 5 minutes.
Drain mixture in colander and return to pot and mix with can of soup and
sour cream, seasoned with garlic salt, black pepper, salt to taste along
with red pepper or grated jalapeno pepper.
Place 1/3 of Dressing mix in the bottom of large deep Corning Wear casserole
and cover with 1/2 of squash mixture.
Place another 1/3 of Dressing mix on top of mixture and cover with the remaining
squash mixture.
Place the last 1/3 of dressing mixture on top and drizzle with melted or
liquid margarine or butter.
Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
This makes a lot but I like the leftovers even cold with fresh hot pepper
on the side for added zip.
Powell also stated, "Another squash dish I enjoy is to sauté onions
and green pepper in a skillet with olive oil, garlic salt, salt, and black
pepper to taste. (Add a chopped jalapeno pepper or crushed red pepper if
you want it spicier.) Add sliced yellow squash and cook as desired. I like
it cooked until most of the liquid is evaporated and the squash is slightly
browned."
Bodock Beau
A Pack Of Lies
I was happy to find the following joke on the Internet, so I didn't have
to rely upon my memory to relate something Durwood Young shared with me.
Durwood's version was only slightly different.
A police officer pulls a guy over for speeding and the following exchange
occurs:
Officer: May I see your driver's license?
Driver: I don't have one. It was suspended when I got my 5th DUI.
Officer: May I see the owner's card for this vehicle?
Driver: It's not my car. I stole it.
Officer: The car is stolen?
Driver: That's right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner's
card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there.
Officer: There's a gun in the glove box?
Driver: Yes sir. That's where I put it after I shot and killed the woman
who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.
Officer: There's a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!?
Driver: Yes, sir.
Hearing this, the officer immediately called his captain. The car was quickly
surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle the
tense situation:
Captain: Sir, can I see your license?
Driver: Sure. Here it is.
It was valid.
Captain: Who's car is this?
Driver: It's mine, officer. Here's the owner' card.
The driver owned the car.
Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there's a gun
in it?
Driver: Yes, sir, but there's no gun in it.
Sure enough, there was nothing in the glove box.
Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I was told you said there's a
body in it.
Driver: No problem.
Trunk is opened; no body.
Captain: I don't understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told
him you didn't have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glove box,
and that there was a dead body in the trunk.
Driver: Yeah, I'll bet the lying s.o.b. told you I was speeding,
too.
Courtroom Exchange
Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?
A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.
