I love me a good sandwich. That being said, we never had the fancy ones with all of the tasty “gloop” when I was a kid.
At that time, we rarely ate out at a restaurant that didn’t serve burgers and fries. My parents didn’t have the extra money for that. After I was married and went to work, Tim and I would occasionally go to restaurants that I had only heard others talk about or seen from the road. At first, I played it safe and ordered a sandwich. I wasn’t sure how the other menu items would taste and they weren’t free. Tim often challenged me: “Why don’t you try something different?” I did and in doing so I discovered new tastes that I liked and some I didn’t. But the sandwiches were still pretty much always a hit with me.
Why? Because I discovered the wonderful, tasty “gloop” that could be put one a sandwich. For instance, I absolutely love oil and vinegar as a condiment. I’m not talking a sprinkle of them, but rather a good dousing where it’s dripping off of the bun. I also found out that I like certain cheeses such as Gouda and Provolone. I still don’t like all cheeses and I still don’t eat tomatoes. Yuck. As for toppings, I like my usual lettuce and pickles( loaded), but now I also want purple onions. In fact, I want it so full of “gloop” that stuff oozes out and drips onto my plate when I take a bite. Best of all, these fancy sandwiches are so large that I can save half of it for breakfast. They are really good with a hot cup of coffee.
In all fairness, I probably wouldn’t have liked all of that stuff on my sandwich when I was a kid. When we had them at home, they were pretty basic: white bread, meat, lettuce, tomato (not for me), mustard and/or mayonnaise. As for the meat, they were usually cold cuts from the lunch meat section and not the ones you got fresh out of the deli. Now, if Mamaw Jo had fixed a turkey, we would use the leftovers on a sandwich. That was always a tasty treat.
One day when I was little, Mamaw Gridle/Myrtle made me a sandwich and began talking about my great grandfather: Elijah Oscar Clark. He was the principle at Green Hill Elementary school. Before they built the cafeteria, people brought their own lunch to school. Every morning he would tell Mamaw to fix an extra sandwich because there would be somebody there without anything. So, during lunch, he would walk around to see who didn’t have anything to eat. Of course, he would give them a sandwich. Sometimes he would even give out both of the ones he had brought with him.
This came back to me recently when I was fixing Tim a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for him to take for lunch. That’s his favorite one by the way. Seriously, he can literally eat one every day. Recently he asked me to make an extra one. He said there’s somebody that would eat it.
“He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” John 21:16 (KJV)
To me, it’s rather striking that Jesus saw His sheep being fed as an act of love for Him. Also, I don’t think this commandment was limited just to Simon Peter. It applies to all of us who call Him Lord. So, when my great grandfather and Tim took extra food for others, they were not only showing compassion, but also their love for the Lord.
While we didn’t have fancy sandwiches at home, we did have some unusual ones. Whenever Mamaw Jo had left over hamburger buns, I would coat the insides of one with mustard and eat it that way. I wouldn’t do that now. Now, my mom has a sandwich that I can’t even imagine eating. She loves to make one out of leftover meatloaf. Actually, over the years I have heard others do the same. Bless your all’s hearts.

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.