Joe Dixie Fuller
I spent the biggest part of the day at Zarzours building chicken and dumplings, peach cobbler, and homemade strawberry ice-cream for lunch tomorrow. You know, when I am there alone and cooking, I find myself reflecting back to my childhood spending the weekends there with my Aunt Rose, my grandfather Abe Zarzour, and my Uncle George. Those were some of the most magical and wonderful times in my life.
I may have mentioned before in my writings that my Uncle George was an avid Ham Radio operator as well as an electronic genius. He was the staff electronic repairman for Clark Brothers Furniture Company, he built electronic test equipment for Olan Mills from scratch, and he was an electronic consultant for Chattanooga State Technical School. He lived electronics....that was back in the day when you could actually repair a television set or a radio. I spent most of the weekends I stayed there in Uncle George's Radio shop just being mesmerized by everything he did and said. He took the time to explain things to me in a way that I would understand even at a very young age. He was a good teacher....he loved me and our time together. I worshiped the ground he walked on.
He would come to our house after I got home from school on Friday afternoon and pick me up as I would usually stay through to Sunday. Aunt Rose would have dinner ready at around 6...usually stew, chili, or a hamburger....I remember it tasting like heaven. My Aunt Rose was an angel. Her bedroom was also the common room or den. She had 2 divans(you know those couches that would fold out to make a bed), a TV, a coffee table, and a couple of chairs in her room....if you have ever been to Zarzours, it was in the back dining room as it is known now. It was warm and comfortable....,I would sleep on one of the divans when I stayed there. I loved it...
Uncle George was a night owl, he stayed up at least til around midnight or 1am talking on his Ham Radio or watching a l ate show. I would sit right there beside him till I dozed off.i would wake up the next morning in bed. He and my grandfather shared the back bedroom ...there were two twin beds in their bedroom. My grandfather, Abe Zarzour had a little cafe/ concession diner on the ground floor lobby of the Hamilton National Bank Building at the corner of Main and Market. He was known as the Mayor of Main street....everyone knew him as he was a local baseball figure and friend to everyone he met. He would stand on the corner outside of his Cafe and wave at everyone passing by. His place was where sports buffs would hang out grabbing lunch and shooting the crap. Abe was my mom's father.
Anyway, Uncle George and I would hang out in his shop on Friday night....when we woke on Saturday, Aunt Rose would have a shopping list for Uncle George and I to pick up at the Piggley Wiggley down on Rossville Blvd. When we returned, she would fix eggs and grits or some breakfast pastry. After breakfast my uncle and grandfather would sweep and mop the restaurant....you could set your watch by the weekend activities....it was the same every weekend.
There was a pay off pinball machine that backed its ass up along the far wall of the restaurant. On Saturday even with the place being closed, there were several idiots that would come in usually with a half pint and a pocket full of change and stuff that machine full til somebody won. The owners from Williams and Johnson transmission repair would come in every Saturday till the bottle was empty or the change was gone.
After the floor was dry and gamblers were gone, Aunt Rose would fix salads and steaks for us. I don't know if any of you remember back when the Golden Gallon Milk Jugs first opened here, there was a horse racing show that came on at 5 or 6 o'clock on Saturday evenings called "Let's go to the Races". Well, the Golden Gallons were big advertisers for this show and every time you drove through a Milk Jug location, you would get a race ticket with a possible winner posted when you opened the sealed voucher. If your horse won, you could redeem your winning ticket at Golden Gallon stores. We always watched the show every Saturday when we were having our steaks. I don't know or can't remember if we ever won anything but damn it was fun. I think you won a Gallon of milk or eggs or something......I remember it like it was yesterday.
After dinner, We would hang out in the radio shop til one of up passed out asleep.
When we woke, it was time to go to mass at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church downtown. We as a family were serious Catholics....my uncle and grandfather were Knights of Columbus..my Aunt Rose's pecking order and I am serious about this was #1 Jesus Christ, #2 John F. Kennedy, and #3 Danny Thomas. That was the way that went.....we never missed going to Mass.
I will never forget my weekends at Zarzours....it never fails....when I am there alone, these are the thoughts that go through my mind.
Love you guys, please come for lunch, thank you, Dixie.