I just scheduled my seventieth birthday party. Putting it in writing is scary next year I can say that I have been around for seventy years and I can also talk about things that I have actually witnessed. When I hear young people talk about something that they think is new I always chuckle to myself. The first time this happened was the “discovery of chicken wings.” When I was little, I remember my mother frying chicken wings, baking chicken wings and sometimes they ended up in the chicken and dumplings. I also remember back in the seventies talking to a white co-worker at Sears in Wilkins Township and she told me that her mother threw the wings away like they throw away neck bones. I was amazed. As time went on, I met people who did not know how to “tuck the wing” before you fry it or clean the wings so there were no feathers remaining and then wings became mainstream. Like they were a new invention. That leads me to my next item, Kale. Yes, I’m talking about greens. Most Black people enjoy collard and turnip greens and at times will mix all three. In our household, Kale was the most popular and I really liked how my mother seasoned them with pork. It seemed like they cooked all day, but they were so good. Now kale is like the new superfood. There are all kinds of kale products even kale chips and yes once again the majority act like they have discovered something brand new like they invented kale. At times I find it funny but then it feels like Pat Boone covering Little Richards songs and claiming the music. I was eating chicken wings and kale on the same plate back in the sixties the only thing that is new is more people are enjoying them in different ways. Does anyone want to put a wager on what will be next? Chitterlings.
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