The signs are in the head.
Or how nature help wean the baby and plant my maters.
Rockmart GA.
Spring 1998
Not all of my conversations take place in a glass, brass, oak, red naugahyde bars. Occasionally I eat. I have found that even in the remote coziness of a country meat and three café interesting topics come up.
“Sybil I told her not to wean that baby, the signs weren’t in the head.”
I ponder, the signs weren’t in the head? Where were they? What are the signs? What is a meat and three?
First things first, yes my northern friends you have diners, the South has, meat and three. Or as they are known around these parts (the south) a cozy country café.
These restaurants are found in every rural southern town, home cooking at a reasonable price. Typically the owners name or their mothers name, appears on the marquee. Carla Country Café, Karl’s Kitchen, Smokestack Lightin, Donna’s Dinner [sic], not a mis spelling this is a café not a diner. Décor is usually two rows of tables with side booths, white china plates and silverware that was stamped out of an old Chevy, probably one of their own. All of which is sitting on a worn, stain, cigarette hole burnt, plastic table cloth, the ones used at your grandmas picnic so many years ago, now you know where they all ended up at.
Why is it called a meat and three?
The menu consists of a choice of meats, Chicken, Beef or Pork, baked or fried. Along with a choice of three vegetables from a long list. The ultimate down home dinner, the meat and three. IF you pick four vegetables your just being a glutton.
You pick your meat and the three accompanying vegetables along with either corn bread or biscuit and there you have it, your meat and three. Add on a buck and you get desert usually pecan pie or banana pudding. Fridays are fish day even though fish is not typically a meat it is on Fridays.
I was at such a place in Rockmart Ga. LuAnns Kountry Kookn, I joked with LuAnn and ask if she ever toyed with the idea of Kountry Kookn Kafe?
“No honey, we got rid of the Klan along time ago.”
Smiling I went back to eating my fried chicken, with fried okra, pinto beans, slice tomato and cornbread when I over heard two elderly country ladies, sitting at the lunch table next to mine, really at mine since the three of us were taking up a four top, discussing the signs.
“She ought not to be weaning that chile till the signs are in the head, that child will never get off the tit.” The lady sitting next to me said
Her luncheon partner replied
“Sybil I told her not to wean that baby till the best day signs were in the head.”
“I knows, I tell her that all the time, when the best days are but she never listens, thinks she knows more that what mother nature has been teach n us for lord know how many years.” Sybil sigh more than said.
“Kids these days” I said
“Lordy you know it” lady closest to me said
I then asked “What the hell are you talking about.”
“What do you mean.” Sybil replied
“The signs, best days, what is that?”
Then my education began on practices, beliefs, as foreign to our modern thoughts as holistic medicine is to the MRI. But just as much sensecial when you take away modern pretense that science knows all. My travels have shown me over and over again, science, scientist, don’t know shit and cause more problems than they solve. Like leaded gas, fluorocarbons, nuclear waste and the beta-max! What brilliant ideas they were.
Mother Nature has been around for a very long time from what I have read. The ancients would study her changes, her movements, her signs of what’s to come. They gather this knowledge over millennium passing it onto untold generations. Then reality TV capture the minds of millions and mother nature was just someone on an occasional commercial.
There still is a portion of the population that still lives off the land. Whose everyday is set by the course Mother Nature takes. They look, see and observe. The foliage on trees, how are the woodland creatures reacting, the fury insects or not so fury. They know when to plant and not to plant, when to ween, travel, quit smoking and have sex to get pregnant.
The signs don’t lie.
Sybil and Martha were enjoying a get away lunch, two ladies who retired from the Goodyear plant across the street. Enjoying the gossip and getting caught up, when I interloped.
“The signs, best days what is that?”
“Your not from around here are you.” Martha asked.
I am but what they are really asking is, where did your grandfather hunt? Mine upstate New York, so even though I am from around here, I am not.
Sybil did continue after Martha put me in my place.
“The signs of the moon, as it passes through the zodiac tells of the best days to plant, ween, castrate, it is all in the Farmers Almanac but Martha here is to high fa-lu-tent she knows the signs by just looking at the moon.”
Martha injected
“The best days, shew, been doing this so long I can tell you the best days to quit smoking a month from now. The phase of the moon and the time of the month is all you needs know. No sense trying to quit now, you just going to fail. I tell em. Most folks listen and never have a problem. It’s them that don’t that never succeed, I tell you true.” Martha said as she place one hand on her heart the palm up in the air, swearing to a higher power or she was just covering for a case of gas.
Sybil then chimed in.
“My daughter’s, baby all cholica, told her a little brandy wine will do the trick, stop the crying like that. Went to wean, told her to wait till the 20th didn’t, that baby never quit the tit. Now my other grand baby, told my daughter in law. You just wean that chile on the 20th, she did went straight for the cup now momma can take her tits anywhere she wants to. Oh lord!” She said with the slap of the knee
“Why Sybil, you old girl watch yourself in company” Martha snorted.
Of course I laugh too never really thought of it that way.
The Farmers Almanac has been around since the birth of the United States 1792 during George Washington’s presidency. Before weather forecasts, mass communication it was the tool for predicting the weather for planting, harvesting etc. An accuracy rate of over 80%. Now in the twenty first century it is still used by many for its rules on how to live a more orderly life. The signs refer to the moon’s place in the zodiac or phase of the moon or a combination of both. I am not sure what the formula is for determining what dates are best for what activities. I guess most don’t care either, they know it works.
The two ladies pocessed a knowledge that was sought out by others for guidance. When to? Not to win the lottery, not to enrich but to enhance your life, to obey nature and a set of rules that have been in place for ever. Only a fool seeks gold, just look at the broke lottery winners. Sybil and Martha had something more powerful, ancient wisdom that has withstood time. Not sure if it is the great wisdom of the ancients that will revolutionize man but knowledge that can fulfill a life.
My bananna pudding came, we discuss the best days to ween my 13 month old. Got several options along with a couple of good days to plant my three tomato plants. We followed their advice and no problems weening the baby since we found out that number two was on the way. Eight months latter we had the baby and still enough tomatoes t feed the family and a neighbor who didn’t listen.
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