By Vicki Scott
Sadly, we lost two great men this week – Dewayne Long and Ned Jordan. One supplied me with one of my favorite stories, the other took me to pet my favorite animal.
Dewayne was a volunteer at George Wallace Senior Center for many years. He even took us to the movies once. It might have been because I talk a lot and it’s hard to get a word in, but Dwayne was a very quiet man. He came up to my desk one day and told me that he had a story that I might want to write.
The story was about how his mother and grandmother would have fried pies ready for them to eat when they got home from school every day. He said the edges on his mother’s pies looked different than the edges his grandmother made. Dwayne asked her what her secret was, and she showed him. She rolled out the dough, put the fruit in it and folded it over. She then took out her false teeth and pressed the edges with them!
Every time I saw Dewayne after that story, I thought of his grandmother making those pies.
Ned Jordan, who also known as “Uncle Ned,” became my favorite uncle on his wedding day. He and his lovely and forgiving wife were married on a farm, which included pigs.
I love pigs! I don’t know why, but I am intrigued by them, especially when I watch them eat. I thought they ate through their nose. Even as an adult, if pigs are present, I gravitate toward them.
They are mesmerizing!
As soon as Uncle Ned said, “I do,” he picked me up and took me to see the pigs. My Aunt Melma was not happy. She reminded me for many years to come that I just had to see the pigs on her wedding day!
One day I apologized to Aunt Melma, and she said with a smile, “You’re Vicki!” I didn’t understand what she had meant until Saylor Rhea, my first grandbaby, was born. If I was half as persuasive as she is, oh my! Because of Saylor Rhea, I did a somersault a couple of days ago in front of her mother and my husband. She kept saying, “You can do it Nana!” I plan to remind her of my gymnastics when she is older. I wonder if she likes pigs.
It is with great honor that I was blessed to know both Howard Dewayne Long and Ned Cary Jordan. Prayers are lifted for the family and friends they left behind, because I know they are missed. I praise God for both men and the legacy they left behind. So many blessings will be passed on for many generations to come.