When I was a little girl we lived in a house back in the woods.

There was a garden planted on each side of the house. Corn, peas, okra and tomatoes on one side and sweet taters on the other.

My Daddy was a man of many trades; he was a truck driver for Central Truck Lines,later on he was Police Chief of the little cottonmill village near where we lived (only 1 officer-him), then he was a guard at the prison but he was a #1 mechanic and no matter what job he was doing at the time he was always working on vehicles on the side. He built a garage across the lane in front of our house and that’s where he spent most of his off time.

He never made any money to speak of working there because he wouldn’t charge much because he felt sorry for all his customers.

Way back then salesmen came to your house with their wares. One bright summer day the WATKINS salesman came. It was always a big deal to Mama ... She saved her change from one visit to the next. She would get to choose just one item because we didn’t have a lot of money.

I didn’t realize then that we were poor because our house was full of love and I had everything I needed.

Well, the WATKINS man put out his wares and Mama chose this BIG bottle of Vanilla Flavoring she had been wanting for a long time. She said it would last the whole winter ...she’d be able to bake lots of cakes.

She was SO proud that she’d spent her money wisely.

Mama handed me the bottle and told me to take it in the house and put it in the kitchen. All the windows in the house were up to let in whatever air might be stirring. Nobody had an air conditioner back then. You were lucky if you had electricity and an electric fan.

When I got to the kitchen I just HAD to see what that Vanilla Flavoring smelled like ... I opened the bottle and put it up to my nose ... just as I sniffed it Mama passed by the kitchen window. She saw me with that flavoring turned up and she thought I was fixing to drink it. Mama yelled, “NO little girl NO, don’t you drink that! Put it down!”

Mama scared me SO bad I dropped the bottle ... Vanilla Flavoring poured out all over the floor and I started crying!

I knew I was in BAD trouble because my Mama never yelled and she was cutting a switch. I ran out of the house as fast as my little legs would carry me into the sweet tater field with Mama right behind me.

Every time I jumped a row of taters she hit my legs with that switch and I cried louder. I ran all the way across the field then over the lane to where Daddy was at the garage. Through my tears I said, "Daddy, Mama is whipping me!"

I thought he would pet me but Mama was there by then and she was crying too. She said we wouldn’t have any Vanilla Flavoring because it all poured out and I caused it.

When Mama told him what I had done he told me I’d better dry those tears or he’d whip me too.

That day had a lasting effect on me ...

Through the years I bought my Mama many bottles of Vanilla Flavoring, trying to make up for the one I spilled.

I still remember that day each time I smell Vanilla Flavoring.

I’ve tried but I’ve never been able to use it in my baking!          I don’t eat sweet taters either!!