Marjorie's Kumquats

Sometimes I walk past my cousin, Marjorie's, house to get to the water's edge. In times past, my uncle and aunt lived where Marjorie's house now stands. The "Front House" was where our whole family gathered for Christmas and other holidays. Aunt Pat liked nothing better than to gather everyone under her roof. Everyone always included extras...such as young men from Keesler Air Force Base who were far from home. The Front House was warm and welcoming, albeit slightly shabby with age. Built in the early eighteen hundreds, it was blown away in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

When Marjorie and her husband, Pete, rebuilt, they took care to model their home as closely as possible after the old and cherished Front House. And gradually Marjorie planted some of the same plants that had thrived in her parent's time. Among these is a Kumquat bush. As a child, I thought the small citrus fruit were like miniature oranges...a bit sour, but you ate the skin too, and on the inner side of the thin, bright orange skin was a delicate sweetness that made the sour burst that came right after rather wonderful. It is a fruit that seems to intrigue and delight the younger generation whatever the year. A Christmas fruit...