When you grow up piss poor in the Mississippi Delta surrounded by nothing but dirt roads and fields as far as the eye can see, you have to be creative in passing the time away. My mom was OCD in every sense, which basically meant we were not to move too much once we got up and made our beds. This is why I loved going to the Beckwith’s house. There was always an adventure there!
Louise Beckwith (aka Grandma Chicken) had 14 kids. Yes, you read that right; she had 14 freaking kids! With so many people crammed into a little wood house in the middle of nowhere, something crazy was bound to happen. What was most impressive is as crazy as things got, Grandma Chicken never got her feathers ruffled (pun intended). That is- until you messed with her chickens. After all, there was a reason she was referred to as Grandma Chicken. She loved chickens and birds of all kinds (except Emus) and always had them running around the yard.
Us being the little redneck hoodlums we were, often these chickens were the source of our entertainment for the day! Before your minds wander off too deep in the gutter, let me stress that no chickens were harmed during our escapades. In fact, I like to think it was just the opposite. They weren’t harmed, they were well rested. I say that because we hypnotized them. Yep! You read that right too! Often, when the long summer days became to cumbersome, we would resort to hypnotizing the chickens! Please don’t send PETA for me. We were young, wild and bored out of our damn minds! And, like I said, the chickens didn’t really mind too much. They just sat there, beaks pointed to the ground, in a trance, until we erased the lines in the dirt. That is how you hypnotize a chicken. You hold the beak to the ground and draw a line in the dirt. There they will stay, frozen, until the line is erased. And to see multiple chickens lined up in such a way is a sight to be seen; and great entertainment for little redneck kids like us.
I am sure, that at this point, lots of you are doing just like my friend Kristy Scobee did when I first shared this with her. You are on Google right now, looking up “can you hypnotize a chicken”. But, I assure you, it can be done. It was done multiple times at the Beckwith’s when we were young. Hey, don’t judge us. We could’ve done a lot worse.
Hypnotizing chickens. This is one of my most favorite memories of my childhood. I don’t really know what that says about me. I don’t necessarily dislike chickens; and I haven’t had the urge to hypnotize anything else. There are many more “normal” memories that I have of growing up in the Delta. But, this is one of my most favorites.
I think growing up as one of the kids in “hand-me-downs” and limited outlets forces you to embrace what lies in front of you and makes you find happiness in the most simple things. Your imagination runs wild. What some people would see as just a pile of trash, we saw a make-shift tree house. Where there was an empty fish pond, we poured some sand down and made our own “beach”. None of us had the best of anything- except friends. We had the best of friends in each other. And we made the best of what we had- even if it meant just sitting around the yard, with dusty bare feet, watching chickens being hypnotized.
Believe it or not, September is National Chicken Month. I immediately thought of Louise Beckwith and all my cousins when I read that. I am sure she is in heaven right now, chicken under her arm, celebrating! There’s an old saying, “sometimes it’s the small things that count”. That is so true, especially when the small things are all you really have. Those Beckwith kids taught me so much more than swear words and chicken shenanigans. They taught me the most important lesson in life- that it doesn’t matter what you have. God will give you all that you need; and it is up to you to find your happiness- even if that means holding a couple chickens down.
In honor of National Chicken Month, I am including a recipe I found on nationalchickenmonth.com.
Ginger Glazed Chicken
Ingredients
• 1 package (about 1 pound) PERDUE® FIT ‘N EASY® Fresh Skinless and Boneless Chicken Breasts
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 package (14 oz.) frozen baby carrots, partially thawed
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
Cooking Instructions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. In large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat and cook chicken, turning once, 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to serving platter; keep warm.
Over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons remaining butter, brown sugar and ginger, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved. Add carrots and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, 5 minutes, until sauce thickens slightly and carrots are heated through. To serve, spoon sauce and carrots over chicken.
Ready In: 20 minutes
Lessons Learned From The Rainbow 