NON-KISSING COUSINS

NON-KISSING COUSINS

 

I once had a crush on my cousin Nancy,

When she married, I was happy her man,

Had a very good job and he loved her so

But I would have stepped up if he’d scrammed.

–

Idie-Ann was too old and Susie too young

And like me she acted a brat…

But when she was older I changed my mind,

But that was the end of that.

–

But “Suze” and I got along just fine

Eating cold haloupkie* and spuds…

Our parents wondered how we still could walk,

But that summer we were best buds.

–

Whether born in the family or brought in,

Family girls all really look sharp…

The family men all chose really well

And hit the ball out of the park!

—Jonathan Caswell

AUTHOR’S NOTE***Haloupkie (more a phonetic—sounds like–spelling) is a Czech/ Slavic/ Polish specialty of stuffed cabbage…our family cooks it in a tomato sauce…with mashed potato on the side.  The cabbage leaves are steamed to make them more pliable and then stuffed with a meat/rice mixture and rolled up into neat packages. These are often baked in a covered glass bowl—often two or three bowls-full at a time for family gatherings.  Imagine what two hungry teenagers could do to a full bowl of cooked haloupkie and another full of mashed potatoes! 🙂