My auntie Em came over for a visit this evening. Somehow the conversation becomes about my mother's and my aunt's childhood.
Auntie Em: "We never went out to dinner as a family either. We would always celebrate milestones at home, with meals cooked either by Viola [their housekeeper] or one of our aunts would come over and bring something to eat. There was none of this 'we aren't expecting any visitors this year nonsense' either that is so popular nowadays. If there was a birthday, or a baptism, or a graduation, people would visit."
Me: "But surely Viola was on vacation at times, or too busy to prepare a meal. What would the family do then?"
Auntie Em: "Then, if there nobody else was in the mood to cook, we'd go over to one of our aunts' for dinner or to a cousin's house. Also, sometimes, what would happen is that . . . "
My mother: " . . . Mai [my grandmother, their mother] would get what was considered 'take-away food' then. She would go to the Eagle Club with a 'porte-viande"
Me: "A what?!"
My mother: A porte-viande. It's some sort of multi level aluminium pan that she take with her to the club and the cook there would fill it up with meat, rice and beans.
Auntie Em: "That's right, I still have it"
Me: "Mai went with a pan to the Club?"
My mother: With what else was she supposed to go with? In those days there was no styrofoam"
Me (sheepishly): "Oh, yeah."
Pictured is my grandmother, Mai, at what I hope is a costume party.
You're from Mayaro as well? I'm a bit younger than you at 20 but Mayaro was at one point my home/weekend get away. If you're willing to face noon-time sun the beach is still that place you remember from childhood.
I remember chasing baby fish where the river meets the sea. And this summer, boy friend in hand surrounded by my pre-teen cousins I once more chased fish, cried, laughed and returned home wet and smelly.
Somethings refuse to change.
Posted by: Shanna Phillip | October 03, 2007 at 12:04 AM