Bena Mae's Kitchen

Promises, promises ... Sheriff Andy Taylor and Floyd the barber are sitting on a bench in front of Floyd’s barbershop in Mayberry one hot summer day. Andy says “well, as Mark Twain said, everybody complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it.” Floyd answers, “Did he say that? Andy says “Uh-huh.” Floyd says, “ I thought Calvin Coolidge said that.” “No, no Floyd,” Andy says. “Calvin Coolidge didn’t say that,” Floyd looks at Andy and asks, “what did Calvin Coolidge say?” I don’t remember what Andy said after that, but history tells us that Calvin Coolidge was a good president who was the soul of brevity. He didn’t talk much and when he...

The night the vigilantes surrounded our house It was in the late 1930’s. I guess I was about ten years-old. We had moved from Corbin to a little town in Southeastern KY due to my father’s job as supervisor with the WPA (Work Projects Administration), a program that was started by FDR to put people to work after the Great Depression. Daddy was sent there to supervise the building of a courthouse. It was to be built of stone, since the former courthouses, having been made out of wood, had been set afire by family members whose relatives had been incarcerated while awaiting trial. The courthouse also doubled as the county...

When I was fifteen It was a defining year for me, the second world war, a new town, new school, new friends, rationing, applying for my social security number, and getting my first job. It was in a restaurant a couple of doors from the home we temporarily lived in until the war was over. It was easy to get a job then. There was plenty of work in the area due to the secretive project close by, most of it in jobs that dealt with the war effort. We didn’t know what they were making and were told not to ask. We only guessed that it had something to do with...

Memories of another icon As I watched the wraparound news of the sudden death of singer/songwriter known as Prince unravel, and the huge outpouring of grief and disbelief from around the world, I could empathize with his fans. Although I am not familiar with the kind of music for which he was famous, I can understand their pain. I, too, was heartbroken at the death of orchestra leader Glenn Miller who died in a plane crash in the English Channel in1944 during WW2. He was on his way to France to entertain the troops. I remember crying for a week when we finally got the news of his death, my eyes so swollen...

Curtain stretchers When my mind turned to the spring cleaning that we observed in the early months of April or May in the days before modern household appliances, I automatically thought of curtain stretchers. I’m sure many of my readers never laid eyes on them, but people nearer my age will surely remember them. I’ll try to describe them as best as I can so you can get a visual image of what I’m talking about. They were made of wood and unfolded to form a big rectangle the size of a curtain. They stood up (wobbly) or were leaned against a wall. There were pins on all four sides. When the...

89 and holding In a couple weeks, April 30 to be exact, I will be 89 years-old. On May 2, my son Steve will be 64. My Tennessee family will be celebrating our birthdays along with watching the KY Derby which is always held on the closest day to our birthdays, and Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday that is held on May 5th. The cuisine will be Mexican (no apologies to Mr. Trump) and shared with friends who always drop by. It’s always a gala affair. Birthdays are always a time of reflection. Our brain is like a computer that clicks to “rewind” at certain times in our lives with memories...

Revenge, and how it can hurt the “revenger” more than the “revengee” brought to mind a story about how it backfired on one fine lady. The story was told at a church luncheon I attended several years ago in Kingston, TN. There were about forty members present and after the meal, the hostess asked if anyone in the group had a joke to tell before the program started. A few people raised their hands and stood up and told some jokes that were pretty funny. It was a great way to break the ice and get everyone in a mellow mood. But the joke that stayed with me all this time...

Don’t push my buttons Woke up one morning last week, had a good breakfast, got ready to go for a doctor’s appointment. It was a pleasant sunny drive to the doctor’s office, clouds and clouds of blooming Bradford pear trees and redwoods along the river, a beautiful panorama and proof that spring was really here.  “God’s in His Heaven, all’s right with the world,” ran through my mind. My daughter-in-law Kathy, was driving, as she always accompanies me to every doctor visit. I call her my advocate since she knows the pertinent questions to ask as I’m trying to decipher the medical jargon which is sometimes over my head. The doctor I was...

In case your brain has turned to mush Need a breather from the incessant and insulting commentary coming from your television these days? Scenes of cringe worthy “experts” fighting for air time to educate you on what you should be thinking about politics or the world at large when they don’t give a hoot about your opinion? Then chill out and enjoy a chuckle or belly laugh with these bits of humor. After a month-long search for the funniest joke in the world, a committee in London, England revealed the winner and here it is: “Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing...

Does a dog mourn the loss of a loved one? FRIDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- Jon Tumilson’s dog, Hawkeye, was an important part of his life. And, as it turns out, Tumilson was an important part of Hawkeye’s life. After the Navy SEAL was killed in Afghanistan last summer, more than a thousand friends and family attended the funeral in Rockford, Iowa, including his “son” Hawkeye, a black Labrador retriever who, with a heavy sigh, laid down in front of Tumilson’s flag-draped casket. There, the loyal dog stayed for the entire service. Hawkeye’s reaction to his owner’s death generated a lot of buzz online and in the media. But it’s not...