THE HARVEST

Another ceremony, another memorable occasion that marked my childhood, was harvest time. My grandfather farmed mostly corn. Almost the entire community had to be summoned to harvest his cornfields. Of course, my grandmother, my aunts, my mother, and I also picked corn. The corn was then carted to the storeroom—or prensa, as we called it—which was a hut behind the house. One evening the neighbors were invited to husk the corn and remove the kernels from the cobs. This was another feast. Huge pieces of cloth were spread on the floor, and I would roll around on them as if at the beach, which, at the time, I had never seen. For those evenings my grandmother would prepare coconut sweetmeats with a wonderful, sweet smell I have never experienced since. They were made with brown sugar and grated coconut. This delicacy was served at midnight, while the cloths were still being filled with kernels and I was rolling around and around on them.