Fun Time In My Teens

We lived in Maryland in a small town named Friendly.  It is now called Fort Washington.  It was changed a couple of years ago unbeknownst to a lot of the people who grew up there and graduated from High School.  The high school has the same name, Friendly Senior High.  That was a good thing.  We had lots of fun back in the 1970’s there.  I graduated in the year 1975.  It was a pivotal time as there was the Vietnam War going on and all the youth got caught up in the war and the issues of the war.  There was something called the Draft, if anyone remembers that.  They were about to get rid of it back then.  We wore things like Hot Pants, Stacks, Bell Bottoms and Sizzlers.  Some kids were dressed very business-like and some, like my sister and I, just wore bell bottoms and tops with sleeves.  There was also a dress code back then too and we could not wear anything that showed our bellies or dresses or skirts that came up more than 6 inches from our knees. Sizzlers were the exception because they had bloomers or panties that matched and it was a part of the dress that you wore over your underwear.

Oh back to the Crabs!  I love crabs.  There used to be a Chesapeake Bay Crab restaurant nearby and we would go a few times a year.  It was not too expensive then and it was an All-You-Can-Eat place.  It was fun and the crabs were delicious.  There is a certain way to break open a crab and certain things that you should not eat in the crab.  I will explain later.

When our cousin moved in next door we had lots of crabs in the summertime.  The neighbor sown from us would go crabbing too and we would eat with our friend.  It was fun to eat with family and friends.  We would have corn on the cob too and bread.  It wasn’t always hush puppies. 

My cousin would go out on his boat in the early mornings and crab and fish all day. Then he would bring his bounty home and his wife would cook them all up.  All she did was boil them in water that was laced with Old Bay Seasoning. After they were done we would go over to help them set up the table.  It was not too much work was in this because we ate in their basement and a huge table was set up there and some newspaper was layered on top of the table.  Then it was time to eat!    It was just my mom and dad, me and my sister and my cousin, his wife and their two kids.  We ate until we could not eat anymore.  Of course the drink for the adults was always beer and we had kool-aid.  Kool Aid was the drink of the day for kids back then.  Milk was about the same as it goes on the charts of the most served…not the most popular drink for kids who were growing up.  My favorite Kool Aide flavor was Cherry or Black Cherry.  We did not have soda that often then.  It was good when we had it but most meals at home was served with a cold glass of milk.

After the meal we would all help in the cleanup.  That wasn’t too hard.  The kids would take up all the dishes, glasses and what-not that were used and the moms would clean up the table and the dads would go off to watch some sports on the Television.  They were some fun times. 

My cousin did more than crabbing though.  He also hunted.  He would bring home squirrels and deer that he shot in the woods where he hunted.  I can tell you that he would use the kids swing set that was positioned in his yard that was in direct view from our dining room window.  He would let it somehow attached it up to the swing and open the body up and let it drain.  He would also gut it out and take off the skin there too.  I do not know what he did with those parts, but it was kind of gross to me and my mom hated when he did that.  Just picture in your mind of eating dinner and looking out the window to see a dead deer hanging up that has been butchered. 

We did get a deer roast one time and I did not care for the taste of deer.  That was many years ago when I was a little girl and I still do not care for the strong flavor of the meat.  I did like the squirrel though as it tasted like chicken.  I never got to taste rabbit either. 

Here is how you shuck a crab:

1.    Take off the legs and front claws.  Do not throw them away.

2.      Put the crab on its back.

3.      See at elongated tab that goes from the eyes to the back of the crab’s belly.  Pull that off taking the eyes and all with it.

4.      Now you can take the top of the shell off by putting your thumbs between the shell and the body of the crab.

5.      Once that is off there are what is called “Devil Fingers” in the center of the crab’s body.  Pull them off and DO NOT EAT THESE. Throw them away.

6.      Now you can break the crab in half by taking the side and spreading it until it breaks.

7.      Now there are chambers in that crab halves and all the meat is within those chambers.

8.      Pull the meat out.  This might take a bit of doing but the work is worth it.

9.      You can make crab cakes with this or you can eat it right there and you can also dip the meat in butter.  I like to dip my meat in butter.  

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing.  It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.