Soppin’:1
I’m not talking about being extremely ( soppin’ wet), I’m talking about using a biscuit2
to get the gravy and etc. off the bottom of your plate and into your mouth.3
On a cold wet morning on the farm, with the wind whistling through the cracks in the4
wall. They holler for you to get up.. Someone has to get up first and build a fire in the stove.5
So the fight begins. ( That’s when we boys were older and stayed in the bunk house on the Moor Place.)6
The one that gets pushed out of the bed first has to grab the wood that’s piled next to the stove, shove it inside, pour the coal oil on it, light the match, pitch it inside and close the stove door, jump back in bed and shove your ice cold feet against those who shoved you out of bed in the first place.7
Now this is all accomplished in a matter of seconds. 8
Ronnie could do the task in 6 seconds flat, Rex was a little slower, it took about 10 seconds, I could do it in about 12 seconds, but Lex has never done anything fast in his life.9
Two or three times we’d have to get up and put him back in bed, because he’d freeze up10
before he even got to the stove. If he did get the fire started, we’d already have got up, put 11
on our clothes in the cold, and gone to the big house for breakfast . We had to quit shoving him out cause he was so slow.12
I’ve often wondered if he was really that slow or did he do that so we’d do the work...13
Anyway back to soppin’. 14
Aunt Arlene made the best biscuits in the world. Bar none, they were the best.. You could sop anything with them. And the thought of them still make my mouth water.15
She made pan after pan every morning. And the last pan she made was round. The last bit of dough was put in the middle of the pan.16
That was the (MIDDLE BISCUIT). Every morning we rotated between the 4 of us boys as to which one got that biscuit. It was almost twice the size of the rest of the others.17
And a great prize to the lucky one on his morning to get it..18
One morning it was my turn,,, I had it in my plate and was looking down the table at Lex to finish with the cow butter. ( It always took him forever.) When the butter got to me I knifed up a big gob and ----my MIDDLE BISCUIT was gone..... Ronnie had took it and though it liked to have blistered his tongue he had took a bite out of it. I was horrified. I couldn’t stand it, so I opened the regular biscuit he had put in my plate and clamped it over his nose. He let out a scream, and we fell off the bench to the floor a fightin..19
Our mommas gave us a thrashing and neither one of us got to have the (MIDDLE BISCUIT) for 2 weeks.. Rex thought that was the greatest thing, cause he got it every other day. And when he did,,, he would always look at us and smile and smack real loud..20
Oh yes, back to soppin’.21
If you took a huge gob of cow butter and plopped it in your plate, then poured honey or syrup on top of it, took your fork and mashed it together, mixed it all up real good in a big pile in the middle of your plate,,, then you were ready to sop....22
Then you tore your biscuit apart right down the middle, took the top half in your hand and daubed it down into the mixture on your plate and smeared a gob of it on the biscuit and into your mouth..... Lord that was good...23
Soppin’ wasn’t just for breakfast, it was for any time you were at the table. The best part of most meals was the juice in the bottom of the plate. (Waste not want not.) You could use light bread too sop with, if you ever got some. But the grease from the meat (if you had some) and the gravy left on the plate was too good to leave, and it was ill manners to24
lick the plate. You could lick the knife before you went from the jelly to the butter bowl, but not your plate. So to get all that good stuff off your plate --- sop... 25
Back then we didn’t know grease was bad for you, so you cooked with hog lard, that’s all there was. Hog lard never hurt anyone then, it’s when you find out about things that it starts to hurt you.26
After school and after you changed out of your school clothes, so you could do your chores, if there were any biscuits left from that morning, you could grab one, stick your finger down in it and hollow out a hole and pour syrup down in it and eat it on your way to the cow lot or barn or wherever the work was.27
You learned to eat fast at our table, because there wasn’t much to eat, and if you finished first you might get some more and also there was always work waiting.28
If you left something on your plate, something you didn’t like, or got too full to finish,29
(which was very seldom), the next meal you got your plate back like you left it to finish30
before you got anything else. (Another waste not want not.)31
If you ain't ever tried soppin’ butter and honey or syrup with a good biscuit, you're sure missing out.. (Try it you’ll like it.) 32
Author notes
Just trying something diffrent. From days of old. hehe
What did you think? Please comment!
Comments
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I have read this and I thought it was delightful. Also read the comments and am glad to see that you didn't change the way you spoke because someone didn't understand. I love the way you speak. I dig it perfectly. This was a great piece that brings back memories, but for you, this was like what...an adventure in growing up. I use to love coming home after school and getting a dripping sandwich with salt on it. Loved it! Nowadays they would have a fit at the thought! This was just one big laugh to me but I do feel sorry for the poor kid who had to freeze his arse off. Competition started early in your family. I still have this in my emails and I sometimes read these and have a good chuckle. Don't ever change the way you write cause I'm thinking it is super delightful!
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This is a highly entertaining write. Love and miss American style bisquits and the thought of that middle one dripping with white sausage gravy has my mouth watering this morning. Honey and butter would do nicely, too. Love your stories! I wish you would post more.
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awesome!
lol i was grinning and laughing, because i grew up on a farm, i know all about that ''waste not want not'' and i love soppin biscuits with gravy and honey butter too! ! -
Thank you Keri, When you get my age theres not much of the old world still around. Someone burned down the old Kosse school house. The old house place has fell in. Only part of the chemley is still standing.... And theres nothing left of the OUTHOUSE. hehe
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Wonderful
Oh, I told you I grew up in the country! This is so like home!
Even though we're a little more advanced at my house, whenever I stayed with my grandparents, this is just what it was like. My grandmother made biscuits that would make your tongue slap your teeth out (but mom's has surpassed hers now ) and then my grandfather loved to take molasses syrup and peanut butter and mix it together to put on those delicious biscuits and I tell you...I lived on that. Up before dawn, out at sunset. Whenever chores would get done, about twice a year, we would drive three counties over to stock up on molasses. I miss those days.
Needless to say, your story stirs up memories. The middle biscuit fights still take place in our house...though now ours is the end biscuit...it's that biscuit right at the bottom of the pan that gets the hard edges. Mmmmm....going home on Wednesday...I think I might revisit this place. Excellent write!
~Keri~ -
Thanks Kimberly, I changed the spelling but not the country talk. Thats the way i talk. Not proper up north. The last half of my senior year wan in Scarbrough Maine. That was a blast. They talked so fast i'd have to slow them down. My grammer would drive the teachers crazy. But right or wrong, everybody could understand me.
And again thank you for looking after me.. Lord knows i need it.. hehe -
Just so you know I did in fact read this, and because you're in my storywriter's group and I just loves ya bunches... I have some errors listed here that need some attention.
4th sentence, pilled should be piled
5th sentence, no should be on
9th sentence, Lex never done, should put has after Lex
11th sentence, we’d already have got up, should read, we would already be up putting
12th sentence, close should be clothes
16th sentence, sopp should be sop
17th sentence, with them, and the though - should have a period after them. Then, The thought, not though, should start a new sentence
The same rule applies to the next line. It should read, She made pan after pan every morning. The last pan she made was round. The
last bit of dough was put in the meddle of the pan. meddle should be middle... you have misspelled that in several places.
23rd sentence, in my plate, should be ON my plate
25th sentence, Ronnie had took it, should read, Ronnie had taken it
30th sentence, though should be thought
35th sentence, meddle should be middle
36th sentence, tore should ne tear and meddle should be middle, took should be take
37th sentence, daubed should be daub, smeared should be smear
42nd sentence, the first to should be too
50th sentence, holler should be hollow
51st sentence, where ever is one word, wherever
54th sentence, the first to should be too
57th sentence, if you ant ever, should read if you have never
Last sentence, messing should be missing.
The part about you guys waking up and fighting over who was going to freeze his butt off to light the fire was funny. So was the part about your big biscuit being snatched. I'm sure it's a lot funnier now than it was when you were living it.
I enjoyed your story. 
♥ Touchof1der
Edited on Oct 10, 3:38 p.m. because ''. -
I think this is kinda inyeresting. I like it.
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Thanks Shona, i guess you need to have been there. To know what i'm talking about. Things were diffrent then.
Edited on Oct 10, 1:31 p.m. because ''. -
Sory you didn't like it Cedric.
Edited on Oct 10, 12:19 because ''. -
interesting
Interesting story this. Thought, however, that it was a bit long and was a little mystified also as to why it was posted in the humor catagory. -
Oh my goodness, my daddy used to tell me stories like this. I was raised on a farm and I know all about soppin' and cow butter. We had a wood stove and it was soooo cold in the mornings too. Momma always made the best biscuts and gravy, we used lard also. Gosh this just brought back all kinds of memories for me. Great job on this, I really loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Your friend,
Shona
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