Dad died a year ago this month. I just received my garlic, to plant this fall. It reminded me of when Dad "discovered" garlic.

He was in his early 70's and someone gave him some to use and to plant. He had never tried it or didn't remember! Of course he fell in love with it, I think he tried it on everything, including fruit!

When the planted garlic came up, he told me that it looked familiar for some reason. I remembered instantly where the memory came from, the farm that he grew up on!

His sister lived on the old home place and I remembered the garlic growing next to the barn when I was a child, my grandparents died before I was born.

I didn't know what it was at the time, but remembered the smell and the flowers. I told him that was probably where he remembered it from. He told me to get in the truck, we are going to visit my cousin Stan, at the old home place.

When we got there we went out to the old barn and the garlic patch was still there. I dug one up and handed it to him, he broke it open and smelled it. He stood there a second and a tear came to his eye.

Then he smiled and said, "now I know what Mamas secret ingredient was". He had a lot of stories to tell me on the trip back home about the family gatherings when he was growing up.

According to him everyone loved my Grandma's cooking and was always wanting her recipes. But she was tight lipped about her "secret" ingredient. He said a few of the cooks in the family got kinda mad at her for not telling them!

I guess that garlic wasn't a common thing in Anderson County, SC back in the early 1900's!

I write this with a tear in my eye, and the tears will probably flow when I plant the garlic this fall.

If you still have your parents you are blessed. Call them, give them a hug, tell them that you love them.