Happy Thanksgiving, and Welcome to My Website!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thank you for stopping by montressgreene.com “CROSSROADS” website and Blog.

First, I will introduce myself. I was born in1936 on a tobacco farm at Pender’s Crossroads in Wilson County, North Carolina. At 86 years old I started writing stories about my memories from the 1930’s and 1940’s. This resulted in a book titled “CROSSROADS: Stories of the Rural South”.

This blog will spotlight new stories from that era and some stories of the present time. My goal is to trigger memories in older folks and introduce young generations to the places, people and events from some 80 years ago.

The week of Thanksgiving was an exciting time for us farm children in the 1930’s. My father would take us to the woods to identify a Christmas tree and to look for mistletoe. He told us stories about his boyhood and his stories that started with “When I was a boy” were the best. Sometimes it took a few hikes to the woods to find that perfect tree. Actually, he preferred to find a pine tree that had a well-shaped treetop and he would shoot the top out of that tree. We talked about Santa Claus and the true meaning of Christmas. He told us that Santa watched children more closely as it got closer to Christmas Eve.

My uncles, aunts, cousins and some neighbors met at Mammy’s on Christmas Eve. We drew names so everyone received a gift. It was a real celebration of the season with eggnog, fireworks, laughter, turkey, ham, and all the trimmings. The gifts exchanged were not expensive but they were treasured.

During World War Two my father had a pickup truck and it was the family transportation. It was a farm vehicle and we didn’t travel much, but when we did it was almost impossible for all of us to get into the cab of that truck. There were four children and my parents. My brother and I were the oldest so we rode in the back of the truck. If it was raining, snowing or cold, we had a heavy cover we got under. That is how we traveled to Mammy’s on Christmas Eve. It was such a blessing to be with cousins and all the family.

The first introduction to poverty for me was later when Lyndon Johnson was elected and I heard his War on Poverty speeches. I do remember a light going off in my head – “that’s us”.

I am thankful for many things on this Thanksgiving Season. I am thankful for the people of this world who are peaceful, have no hate in their hearts for any group of people, people who promote kindness and empathy, love animals and do all in their power to protect the environment and each other. I especially am thankful for the people of the world who are kind and giving to the disabled, troubled, poor, elderly, children and the sick.

During this Holiday Season, I hope to be in a position to drop a compliment, a kind word or some encouragement to friends, family and to strangers. We can spread the love and unity one person at a time if all of us participate. Happy Thanksgiving.