OH LAWD chapter 21

COOKING SCHOOL
courtesy free clip art

 

Having received my 1936 Chevy Roaster, I carefully drove it home and cleaned out enough room for it in the small barn on the property.

I felt like sleeping in it the first night, but finally came into the house and stayed awake most of the night in my bed.

Officer O'Malley told me that he felt I have should have the car rather than the bootlegger.

The next day Marly found out about the car, and I couldn't keep her out of it.

 

She would pet my car like a kitten and kept saying, “Teach me to drive.”

I was thinking, “Not in my car; that will never happen.”  Even as I wrestled with these thoughts, I knew she would eventually get her way with me; but I was resolved to put her off as long as I could.

Ever since she was small she knew how to manipulate me and get her way.

For the next month I kept my car in the barn, and would only start it up, let it run for awhile, and then polish it. 

Finally the time came when I took Linda and Marly for a trip in the country, and we looked at some of the old country mansions. With the top down the air caused the girls to have to hang on to their hats and the wind made their hair a mess.

All at once we had a freedom we never experienced before.

 

The day after O'Malley gave me the car, Pa reminded me that I still had the same responsibilities that I had before. That was a sobering thought, but I had to agree with Pa and get back to my duties.

When school started Marly wanted to take the car to school, but I told her to either walk with me or ride her bike. 

I didn't want anyone messing with my car when I wasn't around, which I knew would happen if it was parked in the open.

In order to stop her complaining I began to teach her how to drive. I thought she was going to tear the clutch out of it before she learned to shift properly.

Eventually she got the hang of it, and now whenever we went anywhere Marly wanted to drive.  However I still wasn't comfortable with it.

The local college had some culinary classes on Saturday morning for two hours. I enrolled, and learned a lot about how to cook special dishes although at our restaurant, we didn't do much of that fancy kind of cooking.

Still knowing how to prepare dishes, and make them more appetizing was a big plus.

 

On the final day we all loaded up on a bus early that morning and went to New Orleans to one of the finer restaurant.  It was interesting as we watched the Chefs prepare dishes I had never heard of before.

Those meals for four persons cost more than I could make in a month.  I decided that as much as I loved my Pa's café; I wanted to move up a few notches to become a Chef with benefits.

After finishing the first series of classes, I enrolled in the second semester and it was there that I got to actually prepare meals suitable for those who supposed their palate's were superior to the common folks, and were willing to pay a premium price for food.

The teacher was impressed by my progress, and allowed me to continue honing my culinary skills until I graduated from high school. Meanwhile Pa decided it was time for Marly to settle down and start earning some money.

She did some chores around the dock but Pa wanted her to start waitressing and allow her Ma to have some time off.  

 

While she wasn't too excited about doing this, but after she started getting some tips and her wages, her attitude changed completely.

At first she spent it all on clothes and things like makeup, and perfume but after a while she began to save part of it.

With my teacher's help I was offered a position in a New Orleans French restaurant, and I headed there as soon as I graduated.        

 OH Lawd!    

 

to be Continued