The Biscuit Story

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Reba Ware enjoyed telling stories about each other’s activities when they were visiting with the Watsons back up in the hills. They lived near Ruleville for the last decades of their lives. They had six children. When it came time to cook it was quite a chore. Uncle Jeff liked to tell about the time Aunt Reba was cooking hot biscuits for supper. She had worked to get the fire going in the wood stove. The considerably large pan of biscuits were in the oven. The table was all set with the butter, syrup, and other necessities for this kind of hot supper. Uncle Jeff and the children were in close earshot for the call of supper being ready. Aunt Reba went to the wood stove, reached down, opened the oven door, and checked the biscuits. The biscuits were brown and ready.

Aunt Reba reached into the oven and proceeded to bring the biscuits out and take them to the table. As she brought them out the hot pan flipped in her hand and landed bottom up in the middle of the floor. Uncle Jeff said that Aunt Reba did not know that he had come into the kitchen. He said she reached down with her back turned to the room’s entryway, swept the biscuits from the floor with one hand gripping the pan and the other under the biscuits and called out, “Come to supper, Jeff!”

This was written by Roy C. Watson on July 3, 1988 at Jackson Mississippi