December 27, 1979
Once upon a time there was this young boy who had been quite spoiled by all the holiday fanfare.
He’d stuffed his fat little tummy with turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving.
Between then and Christmas he’d nibbled on Cajun Fudge, Aunt Bill’s brown candy, and all those other scrumpdillyious goodies.
And finally at Christmas he polished off a good portion of a nice country cured ham.
Then, poof, New Year’s Day arrived and the little boy expected great wonders again.
Imagine his surprise when he smelled BLACK-EYED PEAS.
Well, right away, he began to moan and groan and carry on something awful.
WHY did HE have to eat something THAT common when it was a HOLIDAY!
! Daddy didn’t have to work so it had to be a holiday!
His mother was exhausted by all the doin’s of the previous months so she told him that if he ate the peas, he would have very good luck.
If he didn’t, he was going to have bad luck.
I think she was talking about the fact that her patience had run very thin and if he didn’t eat, she was going to paddle his rotund little bottom—that would be very BAD luck!
So, he ate them and every year afterwards he insisted on having black-eyed peas for dinner! !
So, you see, it really doesn’t bring all that much good luck. After all, the people in the
eastern part of the United States, being as how they are YANKEES, eat sauerkraut and pork for their good luck dinner.
My house always smells just great on New Year’s Day—poppy cock or not—I don’t take chances about this luck idea, and we have our black-eyed peas.
However, since my husband is Yankee, and the children are half-breeds, we must have the sauerkraut, also.
Poor little kids, what they have to endure with such parents! !
New Year’s always brings another tradition with it, too.
RESOLUTIONS!! It probably originated from the same little boy who had been a rotten terror for months and his mother told him that it was time to turn over a new leaf since the new year had begun.
But we STILL make resolutions! Mine is always the same!
I’m going to quit yelling at the kids so much and I’m going to lose fifteen pounds.
Both ideas usually last all of THREE days! !
Happy New Year to all you folks out there. Enjoy those black-eyed peas and may your resolutions last longer than mine!