The young woman in her early 20’s accompanied by her baby boomer mother and grandmother knocked at the home of an elderly lady, a lady she had never met before in her life. The lady came to the door and the young woman said, "I came by to tell you that your son used to be my cab driver. I am sorry he is gone – he was always so nice to me."
You could see the tears growing in the elderly woman’s eyes…."please come in" she signaled. The young woman, mother and grandmother all entered and took a seat in the living room.
"So you knew my son," the woman inquired?
"Yes, I can only drive to my job from March to November – I’m not supposed to drive in the bad weather. I am special needs. That’s why I would take the cab and that’s how I met your son."
"Did you know your son always made sure I got to work on time?"
"Did you know your son was always nice to me?"
"Did you know your son always made me laugh?"
"He sure knew how to talk a lot – and he was really funny."
"And he would always park in the driveway and call me on my cell phone to let me know he was here waiting for me."
Her son, a highly successful sales executive had retired early and for something to do, had started driving a cab to ‘pass some time.’ Turns out, she said to the young woman, he told me it was "the best job he ever had." The elderly woman spoke lovingly about "her boy" she had lost in the Fall of 2010.
"You know what he loved?" said the elderly woman to the young one -- he loved brownies! "in fact, this week-end, I will be baking some nine dozen of them to share with the guys he used to play football with and some of his fraternity brothers who are coming in to town this week-end for a golf tournament. Nine dozen. Going to be baking them tomorrow."
The baby boomer mother of the young woman wondered aloud "Is this a secret recipe or something you can pass along?" Together, they all went to the kitchen and line by line, the recipe was dictated and re-recorded on a new index card:
Cleola’s Brownies - Makes: Best (be sure to say the Makes Best part!)
350 degrees – 20-25 minutes (though Cleola only bakes them about 18 mnts. usually)
~ Combine 2 C. sugar + ½ C. cocoa
~ Add 1 ¼ C. oil
~ Beat by hand – one at a time: 5 eggs (be sure to do this part just like it says)
~ Add: 1 ½ C. flour
~ Add 1 tsp. salt
~ Add 1 tsp. vanilla
~ Nuts: optional
Put in jelly roll pan. "Now the funny thing about this recipe is that there's no soda -- no soda! I think it must be the eggs that makes them the best....yes, it must be the eggs"....
Armed with one new recipe and one new friend, the young woman collected a hug from the Cab Driver's Mother and then announced it was time to go. Maybe she and her mother will whip up some of Cleola’s Brownies tomorrow, too.
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