Our house in K.C., Mo. was so overflowing with stuff that when visitors arrived the protocal was to ‘Quick, turn the lights off! Throw a sheet over the table!”, so that they couldn’t see the mess. We had trouble entering our bedrooms because the doorways were blocked by clothes hanging on pull-up bars between jambs. Our home was a classic two story colonial in the school district of Southwest High School, which had the reputation of being one of the best public schools in the nation. Nanny had instilled the reasoning that housekeeping was a waste of talent in comparison to the more lofty pursuits of education, music, drama and sports. When it fell upon us as children to dispense of all that accumulation it was a Sisyphean tempered with Bacchnalian escapes to Loose Park’s fountains after swigs of Boones Farm Apple Wine. Jimmy’s request was to someday have only the barest essentials necessary to life – a clean bed and a checkbook. And one day, near the end of the summer of 1971, we made it happen. I remember his laughter when he discovered his wish granted.
In September, Ruth Louise left for college with the departing salute, “Goodbye Kansas City, Hello World!” . Dolly and I packed our trunks, suitcases and duffles and boarded the train for Madison , Wisconsin. Train travel ran in our blood. Harley , our grandfather had been an inspector for the Santa Fe line. Nanny had a lifelong pass and all three of her children including Mama had extensively traveled the country by train when they were young. As kids , we made regular trips between Kansas City and Chanute, Kansas on the train and by car. Travel by train fills a sentimental yearning, comforting and exciting.
What I had heard about Madison from Dolly was true. It would be my first exposure to the exciting vibrancy of a college town in the lovely lake country of Wisconsin. In 1971 Madison was riding the youthful wave of dissension and experimentation. Over 40,000 students came to seek their future at the UW. Everyone rode bikes and hitchhiked to their destinations. Riots protesting Vietnam on the UW campus were continuing after the Dow Chemical riot and the Sterling Hall bombing of 1968. We were bound to join this explosive scene. It was a dramatic contrast to the more conservative midwestern lifestyle in which cheerleading, football, dances and high school plays were my passions. In our suitcases were all the things we imagined we’d need for beginning the rest of our lives. I don’t recall going to a store to shop for our wardrobes, because from under the piles of clothes that had mostly been rummage sale finds, there were dresses, fur coats, shoes and treasures from Mama’s more glamorous past. We had tried on and divided the random and beautiful relics to outfit our new personas. Amongst our choices were a black velveteen halter style one piece bathing suit, several sheer embroidered peasant style blouses, dresses from the 1930’s , a full length skunk fur coat, and some really lovely impractical satin night gowns. We had impractically everything to start our new lives and hopefully new romances. Our cooking experience was really minimal , as Mama had skipped learning or educating us in that field. We filled our duffel bags with pots and pans we saved from the kitchen and as we dragged them through the Chicago train station we fell down with the strain and hilarity we felt as we drew attention to ourselves the clattering noise.
Secrets from Granny 