Guy Gilmer owned the General Store in downtown Beaverton, Alabama for a number of years. On our annual visits to Beaverton to see my Dad’s family, we made frequent trips “to town” to visit Guy and his store. Mr. Gilmer always gave me either one of those push-up ice creams or a Peach Nehi. (Dad said, “You can taste the fuzz.”) To this day – over 40 years later – I still associate rural Alabama, my roots, with Peach Nehi. It is harder to come by these days and it comes in plastic bottles now instead of the much better glass bottles, but the taste is pretty much the same. Actually, it can still be had in glass bottles. I found some on the internet, but the vendors are pretty proud of them, and the shipping would actually cost me more than the drinks themselves. I guess they are mostly intended for collectors, but I want them to drink. I don’t think it’s as good if you leave it in the bottle.
So, mostly I just remember Peach Nehis. I don’t get to drink too many of them.
Recently, cousin Kyle called from his truck somewhere near Jasper, Alabama. He informed me that he had stopped in a convenience store and found Peach Nehis, so he bought all they had. (A half dozen bottles or so) He told me he would keep them for me until I could come to get them. When I know that Peach Nehis are waiting, it doesn’t take much to come up with a reason to go to Alabama. Uncle Wayne called and said he was going for Mother’s Day and Decoration Day at the family cemetery at Olive Hill. That was enough for me. I started making plans.
I have always loved going to Alabama and hated leaving after I got there. I often wonder if Alabama is the ideal place to live, but I’ve never lived there so I’m not sure. Maybe because I live so far away and don’t get to visit often, the folks there treat me special when I show up. I like to think that I would be treated the same even if I lived there, but I don’t see how that could be possible. When I visit now, they treat me almost like they like me. I know if I lived there, I would probably ruin that.
Anyway, I bought a plane ticket for me and one for my son, Joel, and we headed to Sweet Home, Alabama. This seemed to be an especially good trip. There were numerous highlights. I am blessed with some of the prettiest cousins in the whole wide world and it is always good to see them. Oh, some of them like me and some of them don’t, but that’s sort of beside the point. Of course, there is always the porch swing that Kyle made on Uncle Larry and Aunt Deb’s front porch and this time I got to combine a couple of the pretty cousins with the porch swing and a Peach Nehi and … well, heaven came down. It doesn’t get any better than that.
I had tried to explain to Joel about how I felt “a sense of family” in Alabama that I had never felt with my Texas relatives, but that kind of thing is difficult – probably impossible – to explain with words. After our short Alabama visit, Joel said that he understood. He said that the Alabama people are real – that they don’t try to hide who they are or what they are. He said, “Everyone I met, I would like to hang out with and get to know them better.” I know the feeling. There never seems to be enough time.
Kyle and I introduced Joel and my niece, Anna Rae, to the mineral water at the well in downtown Beaverton. Anna chose not to partake of the pungent liquid but Joel did. I don’t think he was impressed with the taste too much, but as Kyle explained, “There’s a lot more to the water than the taste.” He was referring to memories that he and I share of our respective childhoods. What is life, after all, without memories?
Stopping to get a drink of water in Beaverton. Walking in the woods and along the railroad track. Sitting on the porch swing swatting flies. Eating watermelon. Wild grapes. Milking cows. Feeding chickens. Cutting firewood. Family gatherings. Funerals. Sharing life. Laughing and crying together. Loving each other.
And every day we make more memories…
Holding a baby while she sleeps; praying that her life will be a happy one. A hug that you both mean. A tender kiss. The music of wind chimes. Pot roast and potatoes. The smell of coffee in the morning. Sweet tea or…
… Peach Nehi.
Jesus announced, “I came so that you might have life and have it abundantly.” Why then don’t we live our lives abundantly? Someone said, “If you live long enough, you die.” We know that this good life we have now is temporary and all too short. Maybe there’s a better life after, and I like to think that is true, but I don’t know for sure. I’ve never seen it nor talked to anyone who has been there. All I know is this life and these people who are my family and friends and these places that I like to visit and these things that I love to do. That’s what I have now. I really can’t complain about the life I’ve had up to this point. I have been very blessed. I am grateful for what I have and for what I’ve experienced and for those who have shared my experiences with me.
I am a man of simple pleasure.
Life is a Peach Nehi.
So, mostly I just remember Peach Nehis. I don’t get to drink too many of them.
Recently, cousin Kyle called from his truck somewhere near Jasper, Alabama. He informed me that he had stopped in a convenience store and found Peach Nehis, so he bought all they had. (A half dozen bottles or so) He told me he would keep them for me until I could come to get them. When I know that Peach Nehis are waiting, it doesn’t take much to come up with a reason to go to Alabama. Uncle Wayne called and said he was going for Mother’s Day and Decoration Day at the family cemetery at Olive Hill. That was enough for me. I started making plans.
I have always loved going to Alabama and hated leaving after I got there. I often wonder if Alabama is the ideal place to live, but I’ve never lived there so I’m not sure. Maybe because I live so far away and don’t get to visit often, the folks there treat me special when I show up. I like to think that I would be treated the same even if I lived there, but I don’t see how that could be possible. When I visit now, they treat me almost like they like me. I know if I lived there, I would probably ruin that.
Anyway, I bought a plane ticket for me and one for my son, Joel, and we headed to Sweet Home, Alabama. This seemed to be an especially good trip. There were numerous highlights. I am blessed with some of the prettiest cousins in the whole wide world and it is always good to see them. Oh, some of them like me and some of them don’t, but that’s sort of beside the point. Of course, there is always the porch swing that Kyle made on Uncle Larry and Aunt Deb’s front porch and this time I got to combine a couple of the pretty cousins with the porch swing and a Peach Nehi and … well, heaven came down. It doesn’t get any better than that.
I had tried to explain to Joel about how I felt “a sense of family” in Alabama that I had never felt with my Texas relatives, but that kind of thing is difficult – probably impossible – to explain with words. After our short Alabama visit, Joel said that he understood. He said that the Alabama people are real – that they don’t try to hide who they are or what they are. He said, “Everyone I met, I would like to hang out with and get to know them better.” I know the feeling. There never seems to be enough time.
Kyle and I introduced Joel and my niece, Anna Rae, to the mineral water at the well in downtown Beaverton. Anna chose not to partake of the pungent liquid but Joel did. I don’t think he was impressed with the taste too much, but as Kyle explained, “There’s a lot more to the water than the taste.” He was referring to memories that he and I share of our respective childhoods. What is life, after all, without memories?
Stopping to get a drink of water in Beaverton. Walking in the woods and along the railroad track. Sitting on the porch swing swatting flies. Eating watermelon. Wild grapes. Milking cows. Feeding chickens. Cutting firewood. Family gatherings. Funerals. Sharing life. Laughing and crying together. Loving each other.
And every day we make more memories…
Holding a baby while she sleeps; praying that her life will be a happy one. A hug that you both mean. A tender kiss. The music of wind chimes. Pot roast and potatoes. The smell of coffee in the morning. Sweet tea or…
… Peach Nehi.
Jesus announced, “I came so that you might have life and have it abundantly.” Why then don’t we live our lives abundantly? Someone said, “If you live long enough, you die.” We know that this good life we have now is temporary and all too short. Maybe there’s a better life after, and I like to think that is true, but I don’t know for sure. I’ve never seen it nor talked to anyone who has been there. All I know is this life and these people who are my family and friends and these places that I like to visit and these things that I love to do. That’s what I have now. I really can’t complain about the life I’ve had up to this point. I have been very blessed. I am grateful for what I have and for what I’ve experienced and for those who have shared my experiences with me.
I am a man of simple pleasure.
Life is a Peach Nehi.
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