BUTTER

Girls

While fixing some toast for breakfast this morning and putting a slab of butter on it after it popped out of the toaster, I had a flashback to 55+ years ago. 

I moved from little Owensville to bigger Vincennes in June 1962 when I was 8 years old. I had a long summer as I was new and knew no one. I met a few guys from the nearby area but just got to know them enough to say hi and maybe play some baseball on a nearby diamond, but more times than not, I was just hanging around our place, passing time. 

When I went to school that fall one of my first friends' I met was Jimmy Miller. All these years later, Jimmy remains one of my great friends. Jimmy’s parents, Jim and Virginia, and his siblings, David, Richard and Ann, lived out in the country. I used to ride the bus with Jimmy to his house after school on Friday’s and spend the night (sometimes the whole weekend). 

In the morning, Virginia made breakfast for the 7 of us which most of the time consisted of cereal and toast. The toast always had a slab of cold butter in the middle of it when she handed it to me and I was often baffled with what to do with the butter. At home, we didn’t have a toaster so dad would take the bread, put a glob of butter in the middle of it and then put it in the broiler pan in the oven so the toast came out browned and the butter melted while in the oven. It was so good. 

Back at Jimmy’s, by the time Virginia made 7 or more slices of toast in the toaster and then put the butter on it, the toast had cooled down and the butter hadn’t melted. I didn’t know what to do with that pat of butter and I would try to spread it out but usually didn’t have much luck. So I would end up taking a bite of toast and this big lump of cold butter. Ugh. 

(Maybe that’s why we keep our butter out in the room so it’s warm when we put it on the toast. I’m guessing Virginia kept her butter in the fridge so it was pretty stiff when she cut it to put it on the toast that was already cooling down.) 

Anyway, when I fixed my toast this morning and put my slab of butter on, it took me back to the Miller house long ago. 

I have so many wonderful memories of the Miller family home. I was there so often, Jim and Virginia referred to me as their 4^th son. They were always so kind, giving and supportive of me that over time they became an extra set of parents for me. They no longer were Jim & Virginia, they became “ma and pops”. They are still alive today and in their late 80’s. When in Vincennes I always try to make a trip out to the country to say hi and give them a hug. 

(Speaking of my dad’s toast, once in a while Jimmy would come stay at my house and dad would fix breakfast the next morning. Jimmy told me in recent years that a memory he has of my dad is the great toast he made for breakfast.) 

Maybe Jimmy didn’t know what to do with his mom’s butter either. (smiley face)

REMEMBER: Believe in this world that there is meaning behind everything.

Be talkin’ to ya.

Dad