by Ron Duckworth
Out of necessity my mother created
a special treat just for us: refried donuts. I don't know if she invented
them or got the idea from some one else all I know is that my sister
and I loved them.
When my sister and I were children
in the 50s our parents owned a couple of eateries in a small town in
western Oklahoma. My father ran a Dairy Queen sort of place on Main
Street and my mother's place was a cafe a couple of blocks over that
served breakfast and lunch. In the afternoon, when her place closed,
my mother would drive over to help my father.
This made of some long days for
both and my sister and I seldom got home cooking during the week. Breakfast
was usually at mother's cafe and dinner at my father's hamburger joint.
We actually preferred to eat breakfast
at home alone and unsupervised so we could enjoy our favorite cereal
poured from big boxes with some pretty terrific toys hidden in them.
Often, after she had closed her
cafe in the early afternoon, there would be a half a dozen or more unsold
donuts. These she would take home with her. Then on weekend mornings
she would slice the donuts open, melt some butter in a skillet and place
the donut slices in the pan, cut side down. It only took a few seconds
for the sugar to caramelize and the donut to get hot. Then she'd ladle
the slices onto our waiting plates. Sometimes we added a scoop of ice
cream (that my parents handmade at one of the stores) right on top of
the donuts.
It was a very special gift from
a very special and a very busy mother.
Today, Retha's 84, lives alone with
her dog Max in a small house in the country and drives herself to town
and back several times a week. She has six grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Her oldest great-grandchild is 21 years old and the youngest is eight
months. Her husband died nineteen years ago.
About Ron: "I've lived most of my life in Texas with the exception of a short
stint living, working and studying in Europe. I'm the father of two
and the grandfather of three. My favorite thing to do is wander around
Texas seeing the sights, meeting the people and enjoying the varieties
of it all."
©
