A special woman
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For some reason, this past week, I thought a lot about my grandmother, Minnie Lee Jones. I sure do miss her. Grandma’s laugh was infectious. It could brighten the darkest of rooms and put a smile on everyone’s face.
My mother, Helen, worked various jobs before my parents bought several newspapers. As a child, I spent just about every workday at Grandma Jones’ house. To say I was spoiled was an understatement. I think she cooked me exactly what I wanted every day. Fried chicken and the world’s best pot of white rice. She always knew just how much salt and butter to add to every pot. To this day, rice is still one of my favorite foods.
The nights I stayed at her house, she would always make sure I had plenty of cover. It could be the middle of summer, 100 degrees seemingly, and I’d get a “Honey you need more cover?” I’d reply, “Grandma it’s 100 degrees,” and her cackle would fill the entire house. Her house didn’t have air conditioning, but I was amazed at how cool her house always seemed, even during the hot summer months. There was a cool breeze that would blow through the hallway of the house.
Grandma was also a speeder. I think one of the cars I remember riding to town with her in was a Ford Maverick, or it could have been a Mercury Comet. We’d travel down Nails Ferry Road pretty quick some days. I’m glad it had a handle for me to hold on to inside. My mother also got that trait from her, and it rubbed off on me as well. I like to get where I’m going, and Grandma did too.
Whose grandmother liked to gossip a little? Grandma Jones was no exception. Back then they had the party line (for you younger folks, that was a type of telephone landline that allowed multiple people to talk at the same time/a shared line). Her and the other ladies from her church would talk often and there may have been a little gossip burning up those telephone lines. She had two old rotary phones and you could pick up one of the phones in another room and listen in on the conversations. There were some juicy conversations.
She was just an amazing lady. My grandfather’s (James Colon Jones) first wife passed away and Grandma Jones took on the task of raising children from the first marriage as well as her own. Did I mention there were literally enough kids to have a complete baseball team? Maybe even enough for a football team? It was a big family, 14 to be exact. She loved her family with all her heart.
Grandma had a wonderful sense of humor. She liked to joke around and have a good time. She was also a great fisherwoman. If she grabbed her cane pole and headed toward the pond, you’d better follow her because she always knew when the fish were biting. One day we were fishing in my uncle’s pond, in a small boat, and we caught an eel. We both thought it was a snake and about killed each other trying to get away from it.
Too often I have taken for granted the people that were instrumental in my upbringing. Grandma Jones played a huge role in my life. Again, I miss her dearly.
