In the Beginning

One day I am going to Google “how many states in the United States have a town called Lexington”.  Lots of  people do not realize that there is one in North Carolina, but many who have traveled Interstate 85 or Highway #64 may wonder about the smell from barbecue cooking outdoors for which the town is most famous.
 
Lexington is located about 56 miles northeast of Charlotte, NC, 21 miles north of Winston-Salem, NC, or 36 miles southwest  of Greensboro, NC.  
 
When I was a child Lexington had a hosiery mill, a cotton mill, large furniture factories, and the house we lived in.
 
I remember  …


When linoleum was just an area rug laid on the unfinished wooden floor and we loved it! 

Earmuffs for when it was cold or your ears hurt … that never worked for either.

The smell of gum in Mama’s purse.

Riding on Daddy’s shoulders.

The way my brother Larry’s neck felt after he got a new haircut.

The way my heart felt when he would play with me.

Baby bottles that were really glass and had canned milk formula inside.

Easter egg nests made in the grass …that the grandma Easter bunny always found.

Really picking out the Christmas tree in the woods and dragging it home.

Exactly the way a chicken’s legs  feel when it is alive.

The clothes being frozen on the line.

Cars as slow as snails

And puppy dog tails.

Thinking mud puddles were swimming pools.

Winter coats that weighed as much as I did.

Thinking since a nickel was heavier it was worth more than a dime.

The way only Mammaw’s cake batter tasted when getting to lick the bowl.

Playing snake in the gully with a real gully and sometimes a real snake.

Hearing the little children at church whispering:  “She’s blind.”

Going away to school.