Mama Nerve was our family matriarch. She lived in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, from 1897-1994. She was a wife and mother, and grandmother to many. Her husband was a mechanic, and she cleaned houses and took care of the clothing of wealthy families in her vicinity. Mama Nerve liked her coffee early in the morning and read the Sunday newspaper from cover to cover weekly. She had little formal education but made sure her children graduated high school, and most went to college. Mama Nerve’s home was always full of people, food, and sweet and savory aromas! Laughter and prayers were paired with hot water cornbread, black-eyed peas, greens, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, and vegetables harvested fresh from her garden. Mama Nerve served kindness to all who entered her home. And although she birthed and raised ten children of her own, there was always room for one more.

As a child, my family traveled to Pine Bluff regularly from Buffalo, New York, to visit Mama Nerve. Especially during the summertime when many of our extended family members also went to Pine Bluff to see her. One of Mama Nerve’s ten children was my grandmother, Mamie Ross, she was a nurse and attended Mama Nerve as she grew older. Visiting Mama Nerve inevitably led to a family reunion and catching up with uncles, aunts, and cousins who lived in Arkansas and were also visiting from other States.