The stereo in Mamaw’s house sat close to the window so she could listen to music while she shelled butterbeans or peas or snapped string beans on the porch. Mamaw said she liked doing this work on the porch because it reminded her of her childhood, shelling vegetables on her own mamma’s porch when air conditioning was only a wish in the wind. Said her mamma would tell tales to pass the time and she passed the same ones to us so we could do the same and keep our women-folk voices alive. Sometimes we’d put one of our albums on the stereo and help shell, that’s how Mamaw became acquainted with Tina Turner. One summer we played Workin’ Together time and again, Tina’s husky, soulful cries floating up to the bald sun, us tapping our feet and shaking our shoulders. Something about Tina’s singing touched Mamaw, we could tell by how shiny her eyes got on certain songs, but if we asked what was wrong, she’d just say Hush, chile.
Charlotte Hamrick is a creative writer whose work has been widely published in literary journals and anthologies. Links can be found in her Linktr.ee. She lives in New Orleans where she reads, writes, and tries to control her appetite for dark chocolate.
Photo Credit: by Juan Pablo Peluffo on Unsplash
