Visitin' in Luverne

On one of our Montgomery days we headed to the little town of Luverne, to visit Jay's relatives there. His Great Uncle James and Great Aunt Marie (Jay's mom's mom's sister) live in a little house off Main Street, just around the corner from the post office, oh, and everything else in Luverne. It is one of those quaint little Alabama towns with antique stores, tiny diners, drug and hardware stores not named CVS or Lowe's, grocery stores called The Piggly-Wiggly, and, in this case, a Pepsi-Cola distribution company. And we can't forget the Chicken Shack, home of the best fried chicken in Alabama. We went to Uncle James and Aunt Marie's and met their neighbor, who saw us pull up and came to say "hey." She used to hang out with JuJu when they were teenagers. Then Uncle J and Aunt M's son Jimmy stopped by to say "hey." We all sat in the living room while the kids played.


One of Aunt Marie and Uncle James' grandsons, Morgan, was there and became fast friends with Ruth and Mac. I fell in love with Morgan- just an adorable 12 year old with freckles and a big grin and the quintessential Southern accent. He reminded me of Jem in "To Kill a Mockingbird." You may be wondering about the name Morgan, as that is Jay and Harris's middle name. Uncle James is James Morgan, and Jay is James Morgan Hodges, but Jay is named after his mom's maiden name Morgan, which just happened to be the same as her Uncle James's last name, as he is related by marriage, not blood. Is that confusing? It took me forever to get it all straight in my mind. The moral of the story is, there were alot of Morgans running around that day in Luverne.



We went to eat at the Shack, which was delicious; collard greens cooked to perfection and crispy chicken. ( I had been to the Chicken Shack years ago with my friend Cary, who is from Elba, a wonderful small AL town not far from Luverne.) Afterwards we went to Uncle J and Aunt M's daughter Elizabeth's home nearby. It stormed, the kids played, the adults "visited," and Harry gave and received lots of sugar from doting relatives.


It really was a great visit, unexpected, really, but I'm so glad Judi and Aunt Marie planned it. Family is family- not perfect, not always close, but always worth the effort to get together, hug necks, and catch up. Having family all living in the same town or nearby towns is something I only experienced during the summer when we visited my Nanny and Aunt and Uncle in Meridian, Mississippi. It always seemed so wonderful and idyllic- being able to just pop over to see your cousin or randomly meet them at the post office or drug store. I know it is not always wonderful and idyllic, but I lived hundreds of miles from my nearest relatives, and therefore it just seemed nice, just really nice to be so close. To have roots, and always be in one place. I loved growing up the way I did, but I always wondered what it would be like when people asked me, "Where are you from?" to be able to say "I grew up my whole life in _____," instead of the Navy-brat-moved-around-alot-not-really-from-anywhere answer. And funny, now I'm a Coast Guard wife and my children will have just about the same answer that I have.


I think I will always drink up and savor these family small-town moments, like our day in Luverne. It is just remarkable and unique, in a wistful way deep down inside me. I think it is in a small way a taste of longing for my true Home. My True Home. When my wanderings cease and I will be safe and loved and known- no movers with big trucks, brown boxes and rolls of tape. No goodbyes. No ache. Just Home.