Corn, Corn and More Corn

Everyone who knows me, knows I love corn. It doesn’t matter how it is cooked or even how it is served. When I was a small child, I remember going to a Corn Festival. There was corn everywhere … white corn, yellow corn, pretty corn, ugly corn … EVERYWHERE! To a corn lover like me, it was a childhood dream come true.

I had corn with salt, corn with butter, and even just plain corn. Since it was just picked local corn, it was very sweet. I liked it even better than chocolate!

I always remembered the Corn Festival. It was such a good memory. I thought it could never be topped. Then, years later, my father-in-law retired. He decided to return to his hometown. Once there, he found and purchased a small piece of property. He was very happy as he began to grow some of his food.

We watched him as his garden began to grow. Each time we saw him, everything would be taller and closer to picking. I should say, my father-in-law may have liked watching everything grow even better than eating it. He was amazed at how much he could grow in his garden.

My father-in-law said I could have all the corn I could carry — no bags or boxes. Since I love corn so much, this was a challenge I couldn’t resist.

Finally, the garden was ready. Up on the top of a hill, his large stalks of corn were gently blowing in the wind. To me, it was such a beautiful sight and one I will always remember.

My father-in-law said I could have all the corn I could carry — no bags or boxes. Since I love corn so much, this was a challenge I couldn’t resist.

I began to pick corn, one ear at a time. Before I was through, I had corn in my pockets, under my arms, rolled in the shirt I was wearing — there was corn in my socks and up my sleeves. Corn was anywhere you could imagine. By the time I was through, my spouse and father-in-law were really laughing. I was trying not to laugh since I did not want to drop a single ear!

We were never sure how I managed it, but I ended up with 60 ears. We picked a few more ears and went back to the house to eat them. I know that was some of the best corn I have ever eaten. Certainly the ones I laughed about the most!

—Katie Martin, Danbury