Job Update

It has been 15 days on my new lab job. With each day there are things to learn and new responsibilities. Yes, I have made some mistakes but hopefully they won't be repeated. I enjoy my work and love the chance to help local mushroom farmers with their livelihood. It is the ultimate to do what you enjoy and get paid to boot!

Made it Through First Week of New Job

Well it's Friday night as of this writing and all is well. I slid through this first week of my new job without too much distress. The first few days of a new job is always an adventure to say the least. I am getting used to working first shift very, very quickly. I have discovered that night time is mostly for sleeping and not working. But a person has to do what they have to do. I'm just glad I ain't got to work at night anymore. I know that's not good English, but this isn't English class now is it?

The lab I am working in is small and sometimes cluttered but we get our work done just the same. The mushroom biology lab where I am working is said to be the "pride" of A & T but just doesn't get the proper amount of attention needed to update to a larger space. Go figure!

My official job duties haven't kicked in as yet. My boss told me that this week would be my "honeymoon" and that it would be over soon. No intimation intended I'm sure! I am looking forward to getting accustomed to the "lay of the land" and doing work on my own. In the mean time I am trying to absorb information like a sponge and I am hoping not too much of it leaks out before I retain the information needed to do my job well.

I am grateful to be working when so many people are laid off and unemployed. I am even more blessed to be doing what I enjoy doing and getting paid to boot! I was raised on a farm and now get a chance to work with a college boasting around 500 acres of farm land. I am just a small cog in the wheel of things but that's OK. I will be working closely with mushroom farmers from surrounding counties and possibly surrounding states to improve their farming livelihood.

I'm taking it a day at a time and learning what I can. E, I, E, I, O!

FYI, My New Job

Yes I am happy to be getting my new job at A & T in Greensboro. I will be working in the Mushroom Biology lab. I am not fully aware of all of my job responsibilities but I can give you an idea of the purpose for the lab.

The laboratory is responsible for the project titled: Edible and Medicinal Mushroom Farming in North Carolina: A Cash Crop for the Future, funded by GoldenLEAF Foundation Inc. In line with this project, we are conducting research on cultivation of exotic mushrooms and working with participating farmers in developing the mushroom industry in North Carolina. The goal is to make North Carolina a leader in the production of edible and medicinal mushrooms in the US.

We have edible mushroom culture Bank, from which strains are applied areas of research that includes mushroom breeding and strain improvement, medicinal and functional food properties in mushrooms and the application of white rot fungi in bio-mining, bio-refining agricultural wastes, including bioremediation of pollutants.

Research in truffles forming fungi is ongoing in collaboration with Dr. Rytas Vilgalys of Duke University, Durham, USA. The lab is also involved in technology transfer and education on application of low-cost technology in sustainable commercial mushroom cultivation in developing countries.

Gone But Not Forgotten (Grandma Ruth)

Ruth Luffman
“Grandma Ruth”

Grandma Ruth (my father’s mother) was the only grandparent that lived “out of town”. Ruth Love was born in 1903 and ended up living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina near a small suburb called Ogburn Station. After all of her children got older and married grandma lived-for the most part-alone in a two-story house on about a three acre lot. My grandfather Treely Luffman (at the age of 68) died three years before I was born (1954) and my grandmother never remarried. Grandma retired after thirty years of working for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. The Luffman family was a large matter. My dad had twelve sisters and brothers. Of course this gave me an over-abundance of cousins, aunts and uncles.

Sunday afternoons were sometimes spent at Grandma Ruth’s house. My family usually visited directly after church on Sundays. My family divided our Sunday visits between Grandma Ruth and Grandma and Grandpa Walser.

Grandma Ruth cooked most of her meals the old fashion way and nothing usually went to waste. Many times lunch was prepared when we got there or shortly there-after. The average Sunday lunch might consist of stewed potatoes, turnip greens, fried chicken, biscuits, green beans, corn, and iced tea. Desserts varied from time to time.

We never knew who might drop in on Sundays but it was usually just my family. For many years my Aunt Lucille (my dad’s sister) and her two sons lived with grandma and had two bedrooms upstairs. Steve and Rick (her two sons) were quite a few years older than me and took me under their wings whenever I visited. They tried to involve me in their backyard football games, etc but the size and age difference made it a problem for me to keep up. I looked forward to the times when Grandma would send Steve, Rick and I to the neighborhood Save-Way store to get some soft drinks or some bread for lunch. If the weather permitted we would walk the short distance to the store.

Going to the Save-Way was always an adventure. Steve and Rick were good friends with the store owner and worked for him part-time in the summer months. The highlight of my visit was when Roy was there. Roy was a middle-aged man that hung out at the store. Roy was mentally off and had a bad stuttering problem but he was very friendly and wouldn’t hurt a fly. Steve and Rick would pick with Roy in fun ways just to get Roy stirred up. They never meant any harm in their fun and many times I would laugh at their stunts until I cried. Many times they would call out “Ro-ro-ro-ee” imitating his stutter. Roy would just laugh and go along with there joke.

The holidays through the year were always a time of busyness at Grandma Ruth’s house. The yard and driveway would be full of cars and sometimes people were forced to park across the street. Every room of the house would be full of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Christmas and Thanksgiving in particular were times of large crowds and much activity inside the house and out.

Christmas was the season for peak activity at grandma’s house. Each family would help out with the food preparation and bring covered dishes (southern thing). The main table would be full of various foods and the remainder of the kitchen countertop spaces would be for desserts and drinks. When it came time to chow down grandma had those folding TV trays to set up throughout the house. There was seldom any room at the main table for human occupancy.
After everyone was amply stuffed, the women would gather in the kitchen to help with clean-up and the living room would fill with guys watching football on TV. The smaller kids would be running and playing (preferable outside) in attempt to burn off what they just ate. Small assorted groups were strung throughout the rest of the house in attempts to catch up on the latest gossip or escape from the kids and football crowd. The older men would tell old war stories, relive fishing adventures, or talk about whatever old guys talk about. I would usually drift from room to room trying to find the most interesting stuff being talked about. I loved hearing the war stories and the fish tales but didn’t really get into the football games.

I was never one to follow any particular sport or team. Matter of fact, I never felt a part of any organized sport. It wasn’t a problem of coordination or size. I was six-two; weighing around 180 pounds and I considered myself coordinated compared to most people. I just never had the heart or desire for most sports. I enjoy fishing, camping, golf, chess, music, hiking, white-water rafting, and snow sledding. I say, “Whatever floats your boat.”

Grandma Ruth was a giving person and Christmas was no exception. She would shop during the year and with some help she would manage to get every grandchild and great-grand child a gift. The gift would be a small toy or maybe a pair of socks but the size of the gift wasn’t important, it was the thought that counted. To the best of my memory she continued this practice of gift giving.

Those Sundays spent alone with only my family and Grandma Ruth was the most memorable. I loved hearing her tell stories of “the good ole days”. Grandma would tell of RJR picnics, her past jobs at RJR, tales of her children’s antics, her faith in God, and life lessons learned through the years. I always remember Grandma Ruth as a kind, easy going person. She rarely got mad at anyone and if she did it didn’t last long. She fell, breaking her hip in her later years and the incident slowed her down some but grandma didn’t give up like so many folks do. She wasn’t able to attend church regularly but she always watched church services via TV on Sundays.

One thing I most admire about Grandma Ruth was her deep faith in God. She was a Bible believing, tongue talking Christian. I remember on numerous occasions our religious discussions would sometimes develop into small scale prayer meetings. Many of my dad’s side of the family had deep religious ties. Most were Church of God or Pentecostal by faith.

Back in the 1980s I remember an incident that happened on one of my visits to Grandma Ruth’s house. My aunt Rachael was visiting too and commented on how she wanted to quit smoking. Out of the blue she asked me to pray for her and ask God to remove her desire to smoke. I was flattered and a bit nervous but I managed to pray a simple prayer. To this day she has not smoked another cigarette! I know it wasn’t me that caused the change, but it made me fill good that God used me to combine my faith with my aunt’s to cause a positive outcome.

Each of us have a limited number of years to occupy this Earth and Grandma Ruth was no exception. In 1993 grandma made the transition from Earth to Heaven. She went painlessly and peacefully at an age of 89 on her way to the hospital. One of my aunts was with her in the ambulance and saw grandma struggling for breath. My aunt, sensing the end, told grandma to relax and the EMT said “Ms Luffman, just relax, it’s ok.” Grandma Ruth took a few more breaths and went home to be with the Lord.

Country Dictionary

Fer piece: a long distance, i.e. “I live a fer piece from town.”

Tare: a tall structure, i.e. “Joe once climbed the old ranger tare.”

Tar: installed and mounted on a wheel for locomotion, i.e. “Did you see the tar blow out on that car?”

Mamaneem: your mother and other relatives, i.e. “How are your mamaneem doing because of the draught?”

Whopperjawed: not straight, crooked, i.e. “That picture on the wall looks whopperjawed.”

Wender: glass enclosure used in houses, i.e. “Look at that dirty wender, you can hardly see through it!”

Oakrey: a vegetable that can be fried or stewed, i.e. “Man that fried oakrey was good.”

Tater: a vegetable that can be baked, mashed, etc. i.e. “Did you eat any of mama’s sweet tater?”

Mater: red vegetable used for slicing, dicing, etc. i.e. “I love to eat fresh mater sandwiches.”

Punkin: vegetable used to make pies or jack-o-lanterns, i.e. “That is the biggest punkin I ever did see!”

Amalance: vehicle used to deliver sick folk to the hospital, i.e. “The amalance moved very fast through the busy traffic.”

Is sump’em da madder? i.e. “is there something wrong?”

Purtnear: close or nearby, i.e. “the car purtnear run over my foot.”

Roastnear: corn on the cob, i.e. “did you pick the last roastnear off the corn stalk?”

Biggun: very large, i.e. “that son of yours is a biggun compared to you.”

Yan’t: short for ‘you ain’t’

All roused up: upset with someone or something

B’leve: one syllable word for believe

Progrum: most popular spelling is p-r-o-g-r-a-m

Ya reckin’: “is that what you think?”

Spinnin’ a wheel: cause a tire to spin and loose traction on a highway or road

Nim: them, i.e. “Nim fish sure are bitin’ today!”

Dawg: man’s best friend

Out yonder: out there somewhere

Juss wuz: i.e. “the golf ball juss wuz short of the hole.”

Young’n: a small child

Wadur: H²0, i.e. “please wadur the garden while I’m gone.”

Flied: to take flight, i.e. “that jet flied over the building fast.”

Tinnie shoes: athletic shoes, i.e. “make sure wear your good tinnie shoes to the ball game.”

Drank: i.e. “Hey honey, would you get me a cold drank out of the cooler.”