Happy Birthday Pearl Harbor Girl!

Good morning everyone.  To all of our veterans and support persons who made World War II a success, I salute you and thank you from the deepest recesses of my heart.  How do you celebrate when you think of how many people lost their lives in Pearl Harbor?  It is easy when you think of all of the people whose lives were restored when the world united and destroyed a tyrant and ended his rule.   There will always be those who want to own it all and control it all so for all of you who came after and serve now, I also salute you and thank you.  We can never give these persons the rights that God granted to us. Today’s story is about my sister who joined her son, Mom, Dad, brother, sisters-in-law, and brother-in-law this year.  She was nick-named “Red” because she had the most gorgeous red hair and the grit to live up to her name.  Maybe her grit came because she was born on Pearl Harbor day. Happy birthday to Red today! Needless to say, she made life a “what?” every single day and we all loved her and always will.

We were country kids and proud of it.  Our only worry was whether or not it would rain today.  Good or bad after affects did not matter, just if it would rain.  My three younger brothers and I were babies compared to the others and we were allowed to stay home while the others went to work in the fields.  This particular day was my seventh birthday and the only crop to be gathered today was the peach crop.  My sisters were at home and the older boys worked with Dad today, while I was allowed to go spend the day with a neighbor and help with the peaches.  I mean I really helped with those peaches. My tummy was soooo unhappy about the quantity of peaches I forced down!  We were pealing peaches and slicing them for canning jars so I had a slice from every single peach I handled.  I was unaware that they sent me to help only to get me out of the house.

Red was nine and a half years of age and she wanted to bake me a birthday cake.  That was never an easy task in those days, since we had a wooden stove in the kitchen and the water came from an outside well.  The water was heated on the stove to wash dishes and everything was beaten by hand with a metal spoon.  She had a job ahead for her but when Red decided to do something there was no stopping her.  She ran everyone out of the kitchen because she knew exactly what she was doing.  I am not sure but I think a measuring cup was a coffee cup and everything else was an eye measure. You know, look at it and decide if it will be the right amount.  She even made that fluffy frosting that has to have the syrup cooked on the stove and you pour it into the beaten eggs.  Lordy, lordy.  I cannot imagine a child her age attempting to complete such a task today.   Needless to say she worked most of the day on that cake.  The meal was prepared by my Mom but Red helped her and that story is definitely for another time.

Finally I came home.  I was told to lie on the couch (sofa) and keep a wash cloth over my neck so I would not up-chuck.  Finally supper was ready and we went to eat, and for reasons to be later discussed I passed on the fried chicken and returned to the couch.  However; the cake was served and I had no intention of missing this grand event.

You have never seen a more beautiful birthday cake!  She really out-did herself!  Wow! I and the other children were so anxious to have cake.  It was my birthday so I had the first piece of vanilla cake and heaps of white frosting.  Everyone waited for me to taste the masterpiece and when my face became a shocked and wrinkled, disappointed, road map, looking thing, they held their breath.  Daddy tasted the cake and he laughed.  Soon we were all laughing so hard and even Red was laughing! Instead of making a cake with flour she had baked her first cake made from corn meal. 

I salute you Red!  You pursued and became the best cake baker I have ever known and you baked many more birthday cakes for me!!!!!!   I love you and Happy Birthday, Pearl Harbor Girl.!