Cat Food and Crackers

Getting Through Life With a Little Humor

After Grandma died, Aunt Sarah sank into a deep depression and hardly ever left her bedroom. That meant Uncle Joe, and I cooked or reheated leftovers.

I listened to a lot of music and watched TV that made me laugh. Chico and The Man, Good Times, Welcome Back Kotter, and What’s Happening!! Were a few favorites that got me through the sadness at home.

Uncle Joe still dropped me off and picked me up at school every day. He’d bring the Detroit News or Free Press and read until I came out and jumped into the big blue station wagon.

“You want to stop at the store on the way home?” He asked.

“Sure, I said.”

Uncle Joe never shopped without a list. Between his grocery list and Aunt Sarah’s, shopping was an Olympic event.

“Where are we going?”

“Felice’s — my prescriptions are ready.”

We shopped at the stores with the best deals for what we needed or that doubled coupons. By the time we finished, our cart was overflowing.

Uncle Joe must have sensed Aunt Sarah was in a cycle of staying upstairs because he stocked up on TV dinners. I could gag them down when I needed to. He always bought a couple of the turkey dinners for me — the only ones I could stomach. If you put enough cranberries on the turkey to give it taste and cover up the texture and saved the cobbler until the end, it was edible.

We started shopping mostly at Felice’s because they had a pharmacy and his medication was a little less expensive. Still, he complained the food prices were higher. “So, what are you gonna do?” He liked to say.

Sometimes, we ran out of cat food before our next big shopping trip. If Uncle Joe was in a good mood, he’d also buy a box of Hi-Ho crackers.

When It was our turn at the check-out line, he’d put down several cans of cat food and the box of crackers. With a perfectly straight face, he looked at the cashier, Shrugged his shoulders, and said: “This isn’t so bad when you put it on crackers.”

He kept a straight face until we were out of the store. It took everything in me not to laugh as soon as he put down the crackers. The incredulous look on the cashier’s face was worth every second I had to keep my poker face.

It was a small thing, but it was always so good to laugh at something. Thankfully, no one ever called Child Protective Services about us.

Even now, I read or watch something funny to keep me from going too far into the darkness. I love people who have a great sense of humor and can also engage in deep, meaningful conversation. We could all use a little of that, I’m sure.