June 27, 2016 - “Listen to me and eat what is good....” Isaiah 55:2
After serving two years in the Army during the Korean War, I re-enrolled in East Texas Baptist University and became student Pastor of The Bonaldo Baptist Church near Nacogdoches, Texas. The church membership was made up of a large of Hispanics who lived along the Angelina River. I drove to the church every Saturday and spent the night at a church member’s house.
The Areolas let me sleep on their best feather mattress when I stayed with them one weekend. The mattress was home-made….was soft and comfortable….. but was too warm to sleep on a hot August night. The Areolas (like many families back then) had no fans or air conditioning in their homes. So just past midnight, I walked out to the moon-lit barnyard and stayed long enough to cool off.
The next morning Brother Vick hollered out, “Preacher, come eat breakfast…and dinner is already cooked for when we get home from church.” When we got home from church, Mrs. Arreola set a big pot on the table. “It’s squirrel dumplings,” Vick laughed…I had to settle for an old fox squirrel…I don't know what’s happened to our little cat squirrels”. The few red hairs floating on top of the dumplings proved that Vick’s kill was indeed a fox squirrel…and the great taste proved what a truly great cook his wife was.
To the surprise of many, squirrels are still one of the most popular game animals in the eastern United States. A national survey reveals that there are over 1.8 million hunters of squirrels in our country….and if the U.S. should fall on hard times, there could be millions more of us in the woods hunting them again. We might wind up with pots of squirrel dumplings on our tables again…..
….with no scruples about what kind of squirrels they were.
"Squirrel Dumplings for Dinner” (by Doug Fincher)
