Miner's or mom's cooking?

As we started to plan the brief family reunion we will have next Saturday evening, the first major question that came up was what to have for dinner.

Sister Fran in Florida and I discussed it and came to the conclusion that Miner burgers were the best option. Everyone in the family likes them, we don't have to cook, and there is no cleanup afterward.

Before I could email out our decision, niece Dana from Florida called. She thought we should have a meal like her Grandma Juanita used to make.

I could see her point. We are Americans of Mexican descent for the most part, and a lot of the younger members of the family eat traditional grandma-style Mexican meals rarely. I could see where a little tradition would be good for our reunion.

So risking Fran's ire, like when she beat me up as kids, I sent out an email asking for a vote. Miner's won by one vote. So Miner's it will be for dinner.

But I'm an old softie. I felt bad for Dana, my daughter Jenny and the others who voted for the grandma meal. I sent out a new email stating I would host a breakfast at 9 a.m. prepared just like grandma used to make.

Besides I wouldn't mind an old country breakfast myself. As most of you can see, I've had a few.

Mom's breakfast was fried eggs, fried potatoes, refried beans, chorizo, salsa or pickled peppers and a big stack of hot, fresh flour tortillas and that traditional Mexican drink Kool-Aid.

Reunion visitors will have this meal on our finest Chinet, at a table, with plastic forks for those who don't know how to use a tortilla.

I should make them eat this meal the way we did so they can get the full traditional effect.

Mom (and dad) rose at 2:30 a.m. during early spud season to make this meal. They woke us (seven kids) at 3 a.m. At 3:30 we loaded ourselves and a cardboard box or two of this food into a car and a truck and headed to the field.

At about 7 a.m., after about three hours of work, we and all of the other families picking spuds that day stopped for rest. Out came the boxes from the cars.

The families sat picnic style at the head of the field and ate breakfast. There was no reason to trade. We all filled the boxes with the same or similar foods.

By 7:30, the boxes were back in the cars, and we were back at work. At about 11:00 we stopped for the day because the spuds could not be exposed to hot sun.

Out came the boxes again. Mom and dad had made enough breakfast to cover lunch. We sat down for another picnic.

And we saved the time it took to go home, cook and eat lunch and come back to the cucumber fields. By noon, we were picking.

I will always say Dad was the smartest person I've known.

We got home at about 6 p.m. The girls and Mom started doing house work. The boys and Dad did yard work. Finally, we went to rest at 8 p.m.

At 2:30 the next morning, mom and dad started breakfast again.

Now, I wonder how many more reunions we'd have if we gave the young ones the full family Mexican tradition.