I went to write group in the am with six of us attending. Readings went well but sometimes our socializing gets in the way of our writing. I read some of my blog from last week, at the Imnaha retreat and a story written several years ago called "Dumpster Diving Mama". It is similar to one Bobi wrote about, her Gramma (my mother) and her days gleaning the dumpster at a small grocery store in Utah. I received good comments and much laughter from "The Write Group".
Dumpster Diving Mama
“Oh, I see a case of mushrooms down in the corner,” said my mother. “Just a minute,” said her sister Jessie, “I have to get this box of grapes.” And so it went as they made their weekly or semi-weekly visit to the dumpster at Reem’s Market in Bountiful, Utah. The two sisters, my mother and my aunt, always the frugal ones, had found another way to stretch their pennies. No, they were neither homeless nor destitute, but they were both in their seventies and had lived though hard times. They were always looking for ways to stock their cellars and freezers and save on their grocery bills. Now it seems they had found a bonanza.
My mom moved to Bountiful in 1973, moving into the little house that her parents had built and lived in for many years. Now she would be closer to many family members. Also the climate there would allow her to grow almost everything and anything that she wanted, not only flowers but also fruits and vegetables to preserve and store in the cellar for winter. She had struggled in the colder climate of McCall, Idaho to grow a garden and had traveled one hundred miles, round trip, to buy fruit so she could preserve it for her family.
Now in Utah, she and her sister Jessie were shopping together and trading vegetables and fruits to can. Aunt Jessie had a small orchard and the valley in which they lived was truly a bountiful place, with produce of every kind. My mom was in her glory.
Each week they checked out the weekly grocery advertisements and planned their shopping trips around the specials. The store, Reem’s Market, always seemed to have the best specials and was usually their first stop. They would trade off driving each week, either my mom in her 57 Chevy or Aunt Jessie in her 69 Cadillac. One day the parking lot was very full, when they arrived at the store, so they parked in the back near the dumpster. The dumpster was overflowing with boxes and discarded food. A watermelon caught their eye, after looking it over and finding just a small rotten spot, they decided to take it home.
That was the beginning of their dumpster diving. Usually they went in the cool of the evening on the days that the dumpster was quite full. This made it easier for them to reach things, but soon they were scaling the side of the dumpster and reaching down inside for the really good stuff. At first they just took enough for the two of them to eat, then they started sharing with other relatives. They couldn’t stand to see all of that good stuff hauled of to the dump, so they made cantaloupe-pineapple marmalade and dried the grapes into the most wonderful raisins. Mushrooms were frozen or dried and broccoli and cauliflower was trimmed, blanched and frozen.
Every summer when I went to Utah for my annual visit, Mom couldn’t wait to go to the dumpster to see what we could find. Sometimes we made nightly trips just to check it out. I remember hanging down inside the dumpster with her holding onto my feet, while I reached for something. I don’t remember what it was, but we just had to have it. Soon we were both laughing and I was struggling to get out of the dumpster before I ended up, on my head, at the bottom with all the rotten vegetables.
The manager of the store knew about their forays in the dumpster, and even set aside other things for them. Sometimes he would have outdated cheeses, packaged meats etc., that they could pick up inside the store. But then as always good things come to an end. Because of the liability the manager told them he would have to post the dumpster with no trespassing signs, thus ending their dumpster diving days. They of course were not happy about this, but took it in stride and continued canning from their gardens and fruit trees for many more years.
I have decided to have "Thursday night at the movies" for the sorority meeting. Darlene will bring carmel corn and I will furnish candy (Milk Duds, Malt Balls, M&M's, Mike and Ikes and buttered popcorn. No we won't show movies, only tell about the first movie we saw as a child or about our all-time favorite movie. This won't be the cultural program that our sorority stresses, but instead a way to get to know each other better. From my experience, if you want to become better aquainted with a person, listen to their childhood stories.
When I got home from write group, the carpenters were here fixing our roof. I was happy to see, that unlike my dream of last week, where they almost demolished the house, they were fixing only, the eight square feet that blew away in the windstorm of two months ago. Adam had trouble getting the roofing material and other parts, plus the weather has been so awful. Now it is starting to snow and we really need sunshine to stick the shingles together. Hope we don't get wind! What will be will be. OWAV:)
This has to be one of my favorite stories. I have a vivid picture of you hanging by your ankles and giggling...
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