I'm packing AGAIN
And unpacking ...
Actually - at this moment - I'm really not sure which ?
Point is - I came across it - AGAIN
The bowel
Its tin ... with a hammered out pattern
If I were to guess - I would say it came out of the depression era - but I'm really not sure
We originally crossed paths in my Grandmother Lytle's summer home
It sat on a very distinctive table that also ended up in my parents home after her passing - though I am not sure what became of it after their separation ? ( I think my mother has it - which would mean my brother will end up with it )
Anyway - the bowl - which is the important part - to me - sat on this particular table as a centre piece
When she - my Grandmother Lytle - would take audience of us - her grandchildren - we were paraded in thru the back kitchen door - ushered quickly past the dining room and into the very large and expansive living room.
Now that I think back - I'm not sure if it was because I was so young or it was actually THAT Big but this room gave "Great Room" a whole new meaning
But back to the bowel ...
It was ALWAYS filled with cherries
This in and of itself may not seem significant to you but for me - a Canadian - raised in the cold, white North - where fruit was a delicacy - and being up in cottage country - in the 60's - when a trip to town and the local markets for food and beverage was a major production - well - cherries were at a premium
My cousin Tommy and I would eat SO many of them - ( cherries ) - that our lips would BE cherry red for days - not to mention what the other end of our body was emitting
But the bowl ...
For me - it signified - and still does - a strange and wonderful feeling of heritage - intermingled with transition - the sort you find in the passing of one generation to the next
When the bowl arrived at our family home in the Park my mother placed it in the centre of this very same table
You can only imagine my disappointment when I peered into the bowl only to find nuts - and not cherries
Now - in hind sight - it all makes perfectly good sense - and thru the years - I came to accept - and even appreciate the nuts
You see - cherries are temporal - and perish quite quickly - whilst nuts - which have a wider social appeal - and tend not to be seasonal - not to mention the fact that - given almost any gathering - can be dispersed quickly and efficiently - with half the mess and bother
When I acquired the bowel it came without the aforementioned table
You can imagine the mental gymnastics I went thru trying to find the perfect place and use for it ...
Eventually - it came to rest on my bureau top to be used as a catch all for various sundry bits and bops that come out of ones pockets at the end of the day
Later - it became a coin holder for all or loose change
When the trauma of my marriage demise ensued most of my family heir looms were delicately packed away for transport to unknown destinations
I'm not sure how or why the bowl has recently re surfaced ?
Most of my personal items are still in storage
But - for this - I am GLAD - and its CHERRY Season too !
