The Unmistakable Ms Mamie

The Unmistakable Ms Mamie

I ran across this picture of my grandmother and I sitting on a bench in Charleston, SC on South Battery.  I was so young and as this picture depicts she was my best buddy.  Grandparents fill a place in a child's life that no one else can.  I just loved and adored my grandmother.  She made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. I knew that I had a special place in her heart and she had one in  mine. I was fortunate enough to live with my grandma for the first 6 years of my life and still  to this day, those years hold some of my best memories.  Getting up early in  the morning to sit out  on the front porch with her hot buttery homemade biscuits and what she lead me to believe was  my very own cup coffee which was  more cream and sugar than coffee.  We would sit on that porch every morning talking and people watching. I got so much joy out  of  sitting with her and watching people going by.  You would always speak and at a minimum say good morning.  I would always look forward to the Vegetable man or as we would say in gullah "Da Ve ja tible man"  He would come  by every morning yelling, "Ve ja tible Man, Da Ve ja tible Man come get your Ve ja tibles, Frashe Ve ja tibles."  Yes, that means fresh vegetables. He was almost better than the sound of the ice cream truck.  And don't let my grandma say stop him.  Boy that was a real treat.  We would go out to his cart..Yes, I said cart. He pulled a cart with vegetable and fruit through the streets. I would get a chance to pick  fruits and veggies with my grandma.  I loved to hear her haggle with him about the prices and of  course she  had a way of always getting  her way about the price she paid. That Ms. Mamie was a professional at getting HER price.  The next part of the fun with her would be preparing what she  bought for our dinner.  Oh the stories I could tell.  She was the best cook ever.  She was the type of woman who could make  boiled water taste great. I learned  so much from her during the time  we spent together. Just she and I and yes, I  was very spoiled.