Five Minute Friday: Visit

 

This morning, Friday morning, as I looked at Lisa Jo's prompt for Five Minute Friday I found myself excited about her opening statement.  I too believe that writing is like the old friend you can always count on to tell you the truth. One thing I have learned about writing is that you don’t need a computer or a special blank book. If you are like me you can simply tear a corner off that old grocery list and write down a legacy of what you loved today. You can count gifts. You can leave notes to yourself. You can weep quietly in ink and then ball it up and throw it out like so much letting go. Writing waits. Writing listens. Writing teaches. On Fridays we write together. On one shared prompt. And we take comfort in each others’ words. Familiar and different at the same time. If this is your first time – click here for how to join us and to link up.  The rules are simple. 
Write, link, respond to at least the person before you.  The word for today is Visit.  Are you ready to begin?

Visit

Go: 
I love the word visit.  It evokes wonderful memories in my mind.  I am fortunate that I grew up in the era I grew up in and in the neighborhood I grew up in.  It was a golden time.  Some of my earliest memories took place when we lived on Georgia Avenue.  I can remember us visiting with our landlady, Ethyl.  She lived above us and when my mom and I would visit her should would serve my mom coffee in English porcelain tea cups.  I think that started my fascination with tea cups that have flowers on them with silver or gold edging.  It is amazing what a visit can develop.  I remember visiting another older couple who lived a few doors down that I loved to go and see.  She would always serve me hot tea in a porcelain tea cup and Bridge mix.  She also taught me how to play bridge, pinnochle, gin.  I could not have been more than 3 at the time.  When I was five we moved to El Prado and I can remember visiting with Mama Jones (one of my friend's grandmothers) as a child and being served sweet tea and fried chicken tea party style.  She would feed us, spend time with us, play cards with us, treat us like equals and I adored the time spent visiting with her.  Right next door was Dobbie.  She was an 80 year old who still drove, took care of her 90 year old sister Bartie, and loved to be visited by children.  She would always have a cookie jar filled with wonderful treats.  I spent hours on her couch listening to her tales of her own childhood.  Susan's mom raised orchids....amazing ones.....and I loved to tag along with my mom when she went to visit Frances.  Her yard was beautiful.  My mom's best friend, Valerie, lived two doors down and visiting with them meant spending time with Carol and her sister Honey Bun.  Every year we would come to see my grandparents in Alabama.  While we were here we would visit with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and long time friends of my parents.  There were always certain aunts and uncles I loved visiting with a lot.  These were the ones who had a pool, kids my age, a skating rink, or played music.  But visiting people is not all that the word is about.  Visiting can involve just a place.  I love to visit Washington, DC.  I especially love the war monuments.  When I visit the Vietnam, Korean, and WWII monuments and touch their walls I feel the past shooting through my fingers.  I feel the spirits of the men who fought and died for my freedom.  I have visited many places in my life and found a nugget to take with me in each place when I left.  I am going to be 60 in a couple of months and I still love to visit.  We now live in a small community called Rock Mills, AL and belong to a group of Porch People.  We visit each other a lot and there is nothing better than sitting out on one of the porches....watching life pass by with good friends.  You don't have to have a fancy porcelain tea cup....a red Solo cut with some tea (the table wine of the South), a good conversation, some good storytelling, (and some music), and a porch.....and you have got yourself a good visit!