From left to right: NJ Potluck guests: Paul Smith, Sonya Smith, Eileen Pierson, Bernadette Fideli and Richard Pierson.
The date is April 1, 2005. You are standing in the middle of your treeless back yard watching your first ever yellow crop duster plane spray the empty fields behind you. Turkey vultures and buzzards circle those empty fields waiting for recent kills and a pack of coyotes casually walk across the lot next to you. There are 254 counties in the State of Texas and you know only one person, your daughter in Southlake, and you wonder what to do. Despite being born in the US, having English as your native language, you flunk the pronunciation and spelling of Mexia. Robson is now your home and you long to meet people. You join Potluck hoping to find a fit and a place to blend. You walk into your first dinner and meet three couples, all total strangers. Suddenly, within five minutes, you discover five of the eight people present were born and raised in New Jersey, your home state. Noisy and happy chatter follows and it is 15 minutes before you realize there are three other residents present. You have found a niche and experience an enjoyable evening. Subsequent potlucks produce equally amazing coincidences. A couple moved from the town next to your hometown and not only know your father’s place of business, but also dined at the same restaurants as you. Another resident worked as a guide on the Maid of the Mist, the boat that circles the Falls at Niagara Falls. Your husband was born and raised in Niagara Falls. Memories of the Buffalo Bills were warmly shared. A bond was formed and stories swapped. Another potluck has you mentioning one of your favorite delicatessens, Hofberg’s, in Maryland. Suddenly there is a gasp, and one resident confides that Maryland was her home state and she dined frequently at this deli. Having spent several decades in Maryland, with both daughters graduating from the University of Maryland, this was definitely a bonding experience. It is now thirteen plus years later and the stories and coincidences still keep coming.
Potluck made our entry into Robson an enjoyable and delicious journey. If you want to meet the residents, enjoy a wonderful dinner and explore the possibility of shared memories, join the Robson Potluck Club. Contact Phyllis Ayers at 940-262-3009 or Eileen Boryan at 817-455-9193 for details. Membership is only $5 per household; a real bargain for an evening of amazing stories.