The Kitchen Band

Day One ends/Day Two begins

The afternoon ride took us to Augusta, Georgia where we visited my niece Leslie Williams Beck, her husband, Jason and their adorable little girls Taylor and Blakelie.  It was great to visit in their home and see where they work and play. 

After a good night's rest and some visiting time with Leslie, who is the daughter of my sister, Cindy, and her husband, Robert, we were on our way to Greenwood, South Carolina.

I was excited to drive across the Savannah River into North Augusta because as I mentioned on Day One, that little town holds special memories for me.  Leslie had told me to be sure to look over to my right as we crossed the river because that's where the Irish Travelers were making their home.  I wished I had time to investigate that (curious soul that I am) but have since done a little googling and found this an interesting group of people whom some would refer to as gypsies. 

No time for that...Must move on.

Our next stop was Wesley Commons in Greenwood, South Carolina.  That would be the home of Barbara Darrow, mother of the man I thought was the pastor of the church we visited on May 6.

"Aunt" Barbara has been our mother's dear friend since the mid fifties when our daddy became a Gideon.  The Gideons are the men who placed Bibles in hotels, motels, schools, hospitals, prisons...and my parents loved that ministry.  Mother was a member of the Auxiliary and in fact became an international officer and traveled all over the United States and to Canada as a speaker when a Gideon state convention was held.  Each year for about 10 years, we went to the international convention as our vacation and my sister, Cindy and I got to experience many fun and interesting adventures.

We met "Uncle" Dwayne and "Aunt" Barbara in about 1956 and spent many happy times with them.  "Uncle" Dwayne passed away some time ago and this was actually the second time that my mother visited "Aunt" Barbara at Wesley Commons.

That afternoon, I visited with Kathy Darrow Constant, sister of Rick who we had seen the day before while our mothers chatted.  That evening after supper, my mother and I joined Aunt Barbara when she went to her "Kitchen Band" Practice.

What a hoot.  Here were about 20 people who are residents at Wesley Common who get together to sing and play various instruments that are normally used in a kitchen.  Aunt Barbara had a cast iron skillet and a spoon, but there were various other pieces - a grater, spoons, a washboard, even a hand held beater.  We were there for a dress rehearsal for their next performance.  Their program consists of a trip around the world - including a jolly "Happy Wanderer" and "Waltzing Matilda"; Chopsticks", "Edleweiss" and "The Mexican Hat Dance" for starters.  It was such fun.  At the end of the evening when one of the gentleman ( a very young looking 78 year old fellow with a  beautiful voice) told the group that they had DVD's of a prior performance for sale for $5, I decided that was too good a deal to miss.

When I am "old", I thought as we walked back to Aunt Barbara's spacious apartment, I think I will come to Wesley Commons.  My children would like that:)

The second day of our trip came to an end.  Time to rest up.  Just before bedtime I shared a surprise with my mother.  Tomorrow we were going to have lunch with our family friend, Robertson McQuilkin in Columbia.  I thought she was going to float right out of the room.

Tomorrow was going to be good - It would be all about "A Promise Kept".