TEA PARTY
JOHNNIE LIKES TEA PARTIES
AND SHE HAS BEEN HAVING THEM FOR HALF A CENTURY. WHEN OUR DAUGHTERS
WERE LITTLE SHE BOUGHT A CHILD'S CHINA TEA SET AND STARTED HAVING TEA
PARTIES WITH THEM. SHE USED THE TEA PARTIES TO TEACH THEM ETIQUETTE AND
MANNERS.
AS TIME WENT BY SOME OF
SUSAN'S AND ANGELA'S FRIENDS WERE INVITED TO THESE TEA PARTIES. THEN
JOHNNIE BECAME A TEACHER FOR THESE FRIENDS ALSO. BEFORE LONG THE
MOTHERS OF THESE FRIENDS WERE CALLING JOHNNIE AND ASKING HER WHAT SHE
WAS DOING TO THEIR LITTLE GIRLS.
THEY ALL SAID THAT THEIR
LITTLE GIRLS HAD STARTED SHOWING BETTER MANNERS THEN THEY EVER HAD
BEFORE. SO JOHNNIE STARTED INVITING THE MOTHERS TO HER TEA PARTIES. IT
WAS SURPRISING HOW MUCH SOME OF THE MOTHERS LEARNED ABOUT ETIQUETTE AND
MANNERS FROM THESE TEA PARTIES. I GUESS THEIR MOTHERS HAD NEVER HAD TEA
PARTIES WITH THEM WHEN THEY WERE LITTLE GIRLS.
WHEN OUR DAUGHTERS GOT
OLDER THE CHILD'S CHINA TEA SET WAS PACKED AWAY AND THE GIRLS WERE BUSY
WITH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES SO THEIR TEA PARTIES STOPPED. BUT NOT THE
GROWN-UPS TEA PARTIES. JOHNNIE STILL HAD HER TEA PARTIES WITH HER EVER
WIDENING CIRCLE OF FRIENDS.
BEFORE WE KNEW IT OUR
DAUGHTERS WERE GROWN YOUNG LADIES AND MARRIED. THEN ALONG CAME GRAND
CHILDREN IN THE FORM OF TWO GRAND DAUGHTERS. OUT CAME THE CHILD'S CHINA
TEA SET AND THE TEA PARTIES STARTED ALL OVER. GRANNY, (JOHNNIE) WAS AT
IT AGAIN. TEA PARTIES, ETIQUETTE AND MANNERS FOR A NEW GENERATION.
WE WERE IN A NEW HOUSE IN
A NEW NEIGHBOR HOOD BY THEN, WITH NEW NEIGHBORS WHO HAD KIDS. THE TEA
PARTIES CONTINUED TO GROW. THE BOYS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WERE NOT
INTERESTED IN TEA PARTIES SO JOHNNIE STARTED A LENDING LIBRARY OF BOOKS
FOR THEM. WE WOULD SIT OUT ON THE FRONT PORCH WITH A BOX FULL OF
CHILD'S BOOKS THAT WE HAD BOUGHT IN GARAGE SALES AND THE KIDS WOULD COME
AND CHECK OUT A BOOK AND TAKE IT HOME WITH THEM.
THIS WENT ON FOR A WHILE
AND JOHNNIE NOTICED THAT THE MEXICAN BOYS THAT LIVED ACROSS THE STREET
NEVER CHECKED OUT ANY BOOKS. SHE ASKED THE OLDEST ONE WHY HE DIDN'T
CHECK OUT A BOOK AND HE TOLD HER HE COULDN'T READ ENGLISH. JOHNNIE
ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN HOW AND HE TOLD HER HE WOULD.
SO JOHNNIE STARTED
TUTORING THE MEXICAN BOYS IN READING. NOW SHE HAD TEA PARTIES, A
LENDING LIBRARY AND TUTORING CLASSES. BY THEN OUR FRONT YARD HAD BECOME
THE GATHERING PLACE FOR ALL THE KIDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
DURING THE FALL THE BOYS
WOULD PLAY FOOTBALL AND THE GIRLS WOULD CHEER THEM ON. JOHNNIE TAUGHT
THE GIRLS HOW TO BE CHEER=LEADERS AND DO LITTLE DANCE STEPS WHILE THEY
WERE CHEERING. THEN SHE WOULD LINE UP THE LOSING TEAM AND MARCH UP AND
DOWN THE LINE AND GIVE THEM A PEP TALK. SHE WOULD CALL THEM THE
COWGIRLS AND TELL THEM IF THEY WANTED TO BE COWBOYS THEY WOULD HAVE TO
TRY HARDER.
TIME MARCHES ON AND NOW
THERE IS A GREAT GRAND DAUGHTER AND SHE IS HAVING TEA PARTIES WITH
JOHNNIE. SHE IS ALSO PLAYING "T" BALL WITH A TEAM FROM HER SCHOOL. I
CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT 70 YEAR OLD JOHNNIE GET OUT IN THE YARD AND PLAY
"T" BALL WITH THAT GREAT GRAND DAUGHTER. BUT THERE IS A NEW GENERATION
OF NEIGHBOR HOOD KIDS ALSO. MAYBE THEY WILL BE THE ONES TO PLAY "T"
BALL WITH CHIVONA AND JOHNNIE WILL ONLY HAVE TO COACH. I CAN SEE
JOHNNIE TELLING ONE OF THE KIDS TO HIT THE BALL AND THEN RUN AROUND THE
BASES. SHE WILL BE RUNNING ALONG RIGHT BESIDE THE KID, SAYING COME ON
THIS WAY. NOW STEP ON THIS BASE, AND THIS BASE, AND THIS BASE AND BACK
TO HOME PLATE FOR A HOME RUN.
WELL THERE IS ONE THING
ABOUT OUR HOME, IT IS NEVER A DULL PLACE. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING
GOING ON. WHEN JOHNNIE TAKES ONE OF HER TRIPS FOR A WEEK OR TWO, EVERY
KID I SEE ASKS ME WHEN IS JOHNNIE COMING HOME. THE MEXICAN BOYS THAT
JOHNNIE TUTORED NOW MOW HER YARD AND WONT TAKE PAY FOR IT.
JOHNNIE IS NOW WRITING A
BOOK AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT, BUT IT WILL BE A HUMDINGER I'M
SURE.
THIS MORNING AS SHE WAS
READING THE PAPER SHE ASKED ME IF I KNEW WHAT SHE WANTED? I SAID,
"NO TELL ME."
SHE SAID … BUT NO, THAT
IS A WHOLE NOTHER STORY FOR A DIFFERENT TIME.
COPYRIGHT
2000
