Thursday, June 29, 2006

death, church work, and saveway chicken

There has been a rash of deaths in our church. No one I know. Thank goodness. but we have had a pile of funerals and the like.

I remember when my Grandparents died some people we knew brought some food... I remember some ham and a couple grocery store pies hanging around...when my Nana died.. and when my Papa died a month later no one brought much at all. Maybe a bucket of KFC or something.. but nothing like here in the South. Its a funny reaction people have.. OMG!! Your Daddy died? I'll make a chicken bog. A year or so ago Steven's great Uncle died.. when we got "the" call it wasn't so much about the funeral and stuff.. but more a call to come eat up some of the food. We ate and ate.. every time a new family came in.. We all got another plate of chicken or pie or whatever so as not to offend the offerer of whatever delicacy was being hauled in by the trunkfull.. His Aunt kept making sweet tea and coffee and someone kept going to the local convenience store for ice. Two liter drink bottle lined themselves up along the kitchen counter like tin soldiers. Finally I had to start doing dishes to keep my hands busy so his great Aunt wouldn't be offended when I didn't declare her poppyseed poundcake divine. it was either move away from the buffet or declare her poppyseed poundcake a sacrifice to the porcelain goddess ... to which everyone would have responded "awww bless her heart. She's overcome" Yeah no kidding. I needed some tums before I could even fold myself small enough to fit in the family limo.

Our specific church has a more mission impossible approach to feeding our bereaved families. We have "Bereavement Ministry Teams" (cue dramatic spy music) We are very high speed and have the art of feeding sad people down to an art. Recently I was asked to be a "team leader." I very quickly accepted the task. HAHHAHAHA I am "team leader".. you must bow to the "team leader"... of course I felt very very important.. then I realized that it was now MY job to arrange the casseroles for the family of the dead people. Ahhhh maaaaann Crap.

So when my team was "activated" yesterday I gathered the troops and planned a meal around the "ahem" scrumptious "Saveway Fried Chicken" that the ladies ministry of the church provides. I issued orders, delivery coordinates and we synchronized watches. I will be meeting with the ladies who agreed to provide a piece of the meal, picking up the yummy convenience store chicken and delivering the food at the home of the bereaved at 5pm.

Should be interesting since I have to pick Thing One and Curly top up at summer camp, will have The Little Man and Evie in tow and somewhere in there have to make an industrial sized vat of Mac and cheese, and a pound cake,AND plan and cook a dinner better than the dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and tater tots we ate tonight. Steven was a trooper, but I think he was unhappy at working all day to come home to "kid food" Tune in to see how it turns out.

2 comments:

Brian Rhodes said...

You are so brave. You ain't kidding when you said our church has it down to an art. It's crazy. I think there have been 5 deaths this week. I'm like, "if the one who died ain't a member, hang it UP!" They can fix their OWN food. I know, not nice but DANG, 5 deaths in one week and we have to do the food thing because somebody's 2nd cousins sisters aunts brother-in-law's dads half brother passed. Sometimes I want to slap southern people but I guess that's where the southern charm kicks in. "Somebody died......here baby....eat something and you'll feel all better." It's instant gratification till you gotta exercise that chicken pot pie and cake off those hips.

About the Save-Way chicken.....I'm sorry but Save-Way gives KFC a run for it's money in Dillon. Save-Way got some good chicken. Wouldn't you know......this fatty is always thinking about food, LOL.

The_Sphinx said...

I used to work at sav way in dillon yeah and iworked cashier and in food prep the chicken you couldn't pay me to eat it not due to taste but how that placr got an a rating for sanatation,some one got laid or money changed hands or something yeah,and if the cook can't use the fryer watch out i,ate some before i worked there and it was bleeding inside yuck i like steak rare not chicken.I am sorry micele but my granny has you beat she knows somones dead 2 months before hand and plans accordingly and thats every body in the pee dee area ,i am stretch9ing it but yeah my grandma,seems to know before everyone else most family included wen some one dies and she goes to everyones funeral loads of food in tow,and half the people we don't know its like grandma who died shes like so and sos cousins uncles aunts brothers former college room mate,its crazy.