Louise Starling is one of the most colorful people that I have ever met. She has the ability to move heaven and earth when on a mission, and can whip the devil himself without blinking an eye. I have seen here ride a Yazoo lawn mower (not an easy task) wide open, pressure wash a trailer, scrub a floor, and work an adding machine at lightening fast speed. She could do anything and wasn’t afraid of anybody. Simply put, she was tough! She drives fast, really fast… in fact, she holds the record for the most expensive speeding ticket in Collier County, Florida — almost $600. Again, she drives really fast!
“Weezie” is someone all the kids loved because she was fun. I can remember her taking my brother, sister and me to the community park once and wanting to ride a non motorized merry go round. We sat on the merry go round and Weezie started spinning it. To this day, I can remember hanging on for dear life because she was spinning us so fast! We loved it and could hardly walk in a straight line after our ride finally stopped.
When I think of folks who spoke their mind, Weezie tops the list. Whatever she thought, she said. She could always be counted upon to let you know exactly how she felt! Good or bad, she was going to articulate it. Heaven help you if you missed church because she felt everyone needed to be at church, and be there every time the doors were opened! Behind a loud bark is a big heart that gives sacrificially to the church, to the schools, and to anyone with a hard luck story. Weezie always seemed to be buying clothes for others, and she took great pleasure in doing for those needing a helping hand.
Growing up, I never remember eating a meal at Weezie’s dining room table, however, I did eat many bowls of lima beans, chicken wiggle and chicken & yellow rice at her kitchen counter. As she got older, she no longer cooked large meals each day. BUT, when she cooked the chicken dishes, she had enough to feed an army. No one walked away hungry. Weezie would eat out daily and was always the bright spot at any restaurant. She would ‘hold court’ and rarely allowed anyone to pay the tab. Weezie and my father would nearly have a fist fight at the end of the meal over who was going to pay for dinner. Once in Miami they ended up shredding the bill as they played tug of war with it!
My favorite Weezie recipe is “Chicken Wiggle”… it is the perfect dish when not feeling the greatest or on a cold day. Something about this dish that just warms the heart and makes you feel better, or perhaps it was just how I felt when I was eating with Weezie.
UPDATE: I WROTE THE ABOVE ALMOST A YEAR AGO (August 14, 2008). SADLY, WEEZIE LEFT US YESTERDAY (August 25, 2009) BUT WAS WARMLY GREETED BY OUR LORD. WE WILL MISS HER. WEEZIE… WE LOVE YOU AND WILL SEE YOU AGAIN ONE DAY!
Chicken Wiggle
1 whole chicken cubed
2 onions
1 can English peas
1/3 bottle Worcestershire sauce
2 bell peppers
1 lb package egg noodles
1 small jar pimentos, undrained
1 small can mushrooms
Hot sauce to taste
1/2 lb butter or chicken broth
Cook chicken until tender and cut into bite size pieces. Cook onion, pimentos, and pepper in 1 cup broth or butter. Cook noodles in chicken broth until tender. Add other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.
