Junior Barrett's Watermelon

In Red Bay, Alabama...


A visit to the local Piggly Wiggly supermarket provided a nostalgic rush on this day.  We had not been in a Piggly Wiggly since we were kids, and this was a nice throwback to a wonderful time of our lives when our mothers saved green stamps and a major grocery bill was $25. As we entered the fruit and vegetables section, we noticed a shopping cart in the middle of the aisle filled with watermelons.  A crudely-fashioned sign taped to the cart identified its contents as something special:  “Junior Barrett’s Melons.”

Junior Barrett’s melons? Sandy and I looked at each other and marveled at this little homespun vignette. I asked the clerk about the melons, and she said that Junior Barrett was legendary in the area for growing fine watermelons (nearby Russellville is the watermelon capital of Alabama), and he left this cartful with the store manager to sell for him. Well, I wasn’t about to leave there without trying one of Junior’s melons, so I heaved one into our cart and gleefully returned to Phannie to see if the clerk’s story had merit. I must tell you that it did; it was one of the best watermelons I have ever eaten.  After chomping down about ten good sized bites, I cut the remainder into sweet chunks of goodness and stuck them in the fridge for later.