The Old Rugged Cross

Songs can evoke powerful memories for us. Some songs take me back to high school or college. Some remind me of a certain person. Today as I was painting, I was listening to my MP3 player. I have eclectic taste in music. One minute I was listening to Sinatra, the next to BareNaked Ladies. And then, ALABAMA's version of 'The Old Rugged Cross' came on, and I was crying so hard I had to stop painting.

'The Old Rugged Cross' was my Grandma's favorite hymn. She also liked 'Rock of Ages', but I think that was a song her mother liked, so when she heard it she thought of her mom. Aunt Arlene had an organ in the home in Florida, and most of the songbooks she had were hymns. Laura and I would take turns playing the organ. Sometimes we fought over it. We both learned to play 'Jesus Loves Me' when we were young. We would play it over and over and over again.

One year I ventured beyond my comfort zone and started playing other hymns. The organ was in the dining room, which was just off the kitchen. Grandma spent a lot of time in the kitchen. It seems like she was always cooking. She loved to listen to us play the organ as she cooked. The first time I played 'The Old Rugged Cross' she came in and sat down at the table and listened to me. She told me it was her favorite hymn. From that point on, every time I played 'The Old Rugged Cross', Grandma would hum away in the kitchen. Hours would pass-with me playing the organ and Grandma cooking. I felt so comfortable, so loved.

Grandma was an incredible cook, but I don't remember all the dishes she made. I remember her donuts and her rolls.

If Grandma was making donuts, the house would smell like buttermilk, nutmeg, and hot oil. She could roll out the dough in no time. Her flour-covered fingers were nimble as she picked up the cut-out donuts and dropped them into the hot oil. When the donuts were done, she spread them on paper bags to let the oil run off. All of us-including the adults, knew when the donuts were done. We descended on the dining room table to devour the warm sweet donuts. Grandma always kept a brown paper bag nearby which held powdered sugar. We would shake the warm donuts in the sugar. The sugar gets moist from the oil, and clings to the donuts.

Grandma wasn't always making donuts in the kitchen. Sometimes it was her dinner rolls. She would put them in a pan and cover then with a dish towel, allowing them to rise. She always folded them over, so when they were done, there was still a crease down the top of the roll. You could pull them apart at the crease and each piece still had a crusty, golden part, and a soft fibery inside. I remember having her rolls with every dinner, but in reality, it may not have been with every meal.

Every time I hear 'The Old Rugged Cross', I am back in the house in Florida, playing on the organ, surrounded by the scents of Grandma's donuts and rolls. I hear cupboards opening and closing, spoons scraping bowls, hot oil crackling, and oven doors opening. And I hear Grandma, softly humming in the background.