Up next in 10
Recently Paula headed to her hometown of Albany, Georgia for a birthday party for Lorene Ownes and her 1965 high school reunion. On the drive down, Paula and Michael take in the beauty of southwest Georgia with the cotton and sunflower fields.
Paula's friend, Susan Greene, known as Bubbles, her mom, Lorene Owens are the stars of the luncheon catered by the Sweet and Savory Sisters, Suzette Wagner and Amy Martin who put on a summer picnic supper and makes a surprise visit.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
A while back, y'all, I went to All
0:02
Benny, my hometown,
0:05
uh, to visit with Bubbles, Susan Green,
0:07
and of course, naturally, my aunt Peggy.
0:10
Well, it was Susan's mother's birthday,
0:13
and I can't remember 93 or 94. Anyway,
0:17
she's a doll of a a lady. And so Susan
0:21
threw her a birthday party, uh, a
0:24
lunchon with all of her little friends.
0:27
And I'm telling you what, that room was
0:30
full of white hair, honey, like you have
0:33
never seen. Uh, and we had such a good
0:36
time. And my sweet girls, Susette and
0:39
Amy Dupi. So anyway, the name of the
0:43
restaurant is Sass. And uh, these two
0:46
girls were daughters of my best friend
0:49
in the world, Susan Dupi, who has since
0:52
passed away. But uh I just love those
0:55
girls and they can cook like you
0:57
wouldn't believe. So they catered the
1:00
lunchon and then Susan had ordered a
1:03
special cake for her mother and it was
1:07
beautiful. In fact, I tried to replicate
1:10
it in a show on Positively Paula. Uh
1:14
mine wasn't as fancy as hers, but it was
1:16
it was still great. But anyway, I'm
1:19
standing up here talking about all this
1:21
stuff. Why don't I just show y'all? It
1:24
was fun. Those old ladies, they were
1:26
cute.
1:30
You know,
1:33
I I almost say when I go home to a class
1:37
reunion, I don't go back as Paula Dean.
1:41
I go back as Paula Hires. You know,
1:44
that's how we all remember each other.
1:46
Uh Diane Tedar, that's her maiden name.
1:49
Marilyn Milson, that's her maiden name.
1:51
Gail Hughes, that's her maiden name. You
1:54
know, it's like we pick up where we left
1:56
off. And of course, in high school, none
1:59
of us were married.
2:01
And uh so it's it's that person that was
2:06
49 or 50 years ago.
2:18
Hey y'all. This weekend I'm headed to
2:20
Albini, Georgia. Uh the place that I was
2:24
born and I am going back for my 49th
2:28
class reunion, y'all. We're celebrating
2:31
the class of 64 and the class of 65
2:34
together. I'm class of 65. So I'm 49. Uh
2:38
class of 64 is their big 50th. I'm so
2:43
excited. If you've never been to one of
2:46
your high school class reunions, I so
2:49
encourage y'all to go because things
2:52
just change. So, you know, when you're
2:55
in high school, you got your little
2:56
clicks and little groupy groupies here
2:59
and groupy groupies there, but after all
3:02
these years, you know, it's just like
3:05
one big united class. And uh we are who
3:11
we are. we've accomplished what we're
3:13
going to accomplish and we accept each
3:15
other for whomever we are and how we've
3:18
turned out and we just get together, go
3:22
back down the road 49 years ago,
3:25
reminisce, and take all these memories
3:28
home with us and wait for the next
3:30
reunion. Now, when we get there tonight,
3:33
we're going to walk in to h a party that
3:37
is thrown for the matriarchs
3:39
of Albany, Georgia. They're the creme de
3:42
la creme of old all Benny and it's
3:47
ringing ring Susan or Bubbles as you may
3:50
know her. It's her mother's birthday. My
3:53
girls are going to be doing the
3:54
catering. You know the sweet and savory
3:56
sisters. Uh they're like kind of my
3:59
girls, too. So, it's going to be extra
4:01
fun. And I'll tell y'all, Susan is as
4:05
nervous as a hot cat because she's going
4:09
to have
4:11
25 or 30 people over 85.
4:16
And uh she's so afraid she's going to
4:18
have to do CPR or behind lick on them.
4:26
Y'all just keep your fingers crossed
4:27
that we get through the night.
5:01
And uh this goes on for miles and miles
5:04
and miles. And then we come up on
5:08
incredible sunflower fields that just go
5:12
on for acres. And uh like I said, I had
5:16
forgotten how beautiful it was.
5:21
Hey, welcome to Albany, boys. Y'all come
5:25
on in. I'm having a southern picnic
5:27
supper tonight for my mother's belated
5:29
birthday. And you have never been to
5:31
anything like this before. And I promise
5:33
you, you won't ever go to anything like
5:35
this again. But come on, I want y'all to
5:37
meet everybody and see what we're doing.
5:39
This is a group of ladies. Youngest is
5:42
88, oldest is 94. You go to see
5:45
wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and
5:48
probably a lot of blurs and blips in
5:51
between, but they love it. I did it a
5:55
couple of months ago, and the notes that
5:57
I got were just fabulous. And we're
5:59
doing it again. So, come on. Come on.
6:02
And the ladies are all gathered in the
6:04
great room. Y'all could talk with me.
6:06
Oh, we supposed to talk. We got Ju Guu
6:08
here and Carolyn. We're so glad to be
6:11
here. Uh these are all of my mother's
6:14
friends, lifelong friends, neighborhood
6:17
friends, and longtime friends. This is
6:21
Anita, and this is Marie, and they are
6:24
neighborhood friends of my mothers and
6:26
daddies. And we've got Alice over here,
6:30
Alice's daughter, and I grew up
6:31
together. Doris Lurig over there. We're
6:34
lifelong friends. Peggy Gillybo that
6:37
lived next door to how many years? 35.
6:41
35 years lived next door to mother and
6:43
daddy. and I grew up knowing her. And
6:45
we've got my mother over here, the
6:47
birthday girl, and Mary Russell. So, all
6:51
right. And I got Darus. I got them all.
6:55
All right. Come on out to the kitchen
6:56
where the girls are cooking. Girls. Hey.
7:00
Hey. What y'all cooking?
7:02
Come on, girls. We cooking. Come on,
7:05
boys. Slaving over here. Slaving. I'm
7:08
gonna tell you a little secret.
7:10
I told the girls when they were
7:12
preparing the meal,
7:14
they don't cut real well with their
7:16
knives.
7:18
So, we don't want to have to cut 26
7:21
chicken breast. So, we need stuff that
7:23
we can just Not that they're that old,
7:25
but yeah, we need finger food, but good
7:27
soul food. Finger food. Well, you fixing
7:30
to get it, sister. I promise you,
7:32
nobody's allergic to anything in this
7:34
group. If they've lived this long,
7:36
they've eaten it all. That's true.
7:38
That's true.
7:40
I can't worry about them anymore, let me
7:42
tell you. I love to paint bread with
7:44
butter.
7:46
It's good like that. It sure is.
7:49
Cuz it's good. It is good. All right.
7:52
I'm going to go and check inside and see
7:53
if came because if she didn't, I'm going
7:55
to send my field to go get her. Okay.
7:58
So, all right. You girls got the kitchen
8:00
under control, guys. Yes, ma'am. We're
8:02
going to be coming in a minute. All
8:04
right. Let's get it on, sister. All
8:05
right. All right, ladies. We've got
8:08
place cards for everybody. I've got 12
8:11
in the dining room, car table outside,
8:14
inside, and a round table over here. So,
8:17
find your name and sit down, and then we
8:20
will serve you. Okay, Virginia, you're
8:23
in here. Uh Juju, you're outside, I
8:27
believe, at one of those tables.
8:30
All right, let's see.
8:35
Marie, I think you're in the dining
8:37
room. Uh, Nita, you're outside. Glad's
8:40
in here. Mariela is right down there. Go
8:43
with Marie. I think you're inside at the
8:45
table. I tell you what, it y'all are
8:48
like, I got to hurry y'all in here. I'm
8:51
going to wrangle y'all up. No, Alice,
8:53
you're at the round table with mother.
8:56
I'm just wondering. I know. Okay, come
8:58
on. We're going to find your place. I
8:59
think you're over here.
9:02
I'm working up a sweat and I'm ready to
9:04
eat. I tell you what, trying to get
9:06
these little ladies where they're
9:08
supposed to go. And this confined area
9:10
is difficult. They can get here, believe
9:13
me. Give them an invitation and party
9:16
on. So, we're going to picnic now. I got
9:19
it. I got it. Okay. And what color?
9:23
All right. We've got a warm chicken
9:26
salad, traditional deileled eggs. We've
9:29
got grilled pimeina cheese sandwich with
9:31
a uh sliced red tomato on it. We got
9:34
fried green tomatoes with a dollop of uh
9:38
dill mayonnaise. Dill mayonnaise. And
9:40
then black eyed pea relish. And then
9:42
we've got roasted root vegetables with a
9:44
pine nut pesto.
9:48
There's blue.
9:51
Let me get them and put them back here.
9:53
The space that you live in really
9:55
affects the way you feel. So, my first
9:58
recommendation is start by updating your
10:01
window treatments with Smith and Noble.
10:04
Smith and Noble's beautiful handcrafted
10:06
blinds, drapes, shades, and shutters are
10:09
custom made just for you, and they offer
10:11
different service options to fit your
10:13
needs. To get started today, contact
10:16
Smith & Noble to get my special limited
10:19
time offer, 25% off on your window
10:22
treatments, plus free design
10:24
consultation. Create a space that you're
10:28
going to love. For details about my
10:30
special offer, go to smith &oble.com/pa.
10:35
That's smith &oble.com/pala
10:38
or call 1-8006593300.
10:43
That's 1 800659-3300.
10:50
Okay, come on, Phil. Come on. We've got
10:53
some special guests and my guests don't
10:56
know this guest is coming. What a
10:59
thrill. What a thrill. What a thrill.
11:01
Come on.
11:02
Come on.
11:06
Oh, she's here. She's here. It's like
11:09
Santa. They're going to just absolutely
11:12
go ape when they hear. They are. Are
11:14
they going to be able to see me? Yes.
11:16
Yes, they going to be able to see. And
11:18
Michael's here, too. Well, they hear me.
11:20
Where's your mama? Your mama's at that
11:22
end, right? Yes. Yes. Happy birthday.
11:27
Happy birthday.
11:31
How are you?
11:34
Good to Hey ladies. I'm Paula
11:38
and this is Michael. We've come for your
11:41
birthday. Thank you. Well, Susan has
11:45
kept all this top secret.
11:49
I've tried. Yes.
11:52
I have tried. I've tried. Yes. This is I
11:55
said it was not. Well, I know. But it's
11:57
a malay. So, like I said, ring ring. She
12:00
was keeping this under lock and key. Uh,
12:03
I heard about y'all's last lunchon. How
12:07
wonderful it was. Oh, it was. And this
12:10
is the thing of the past, isn't it?
12:13
Y'all don't do things like this anymore,
12:15
do you? We're having a southern picnic
12:18
with linen napkins, silver lin.
12:25
Oh, that hair is so pretty.
12:28
Oh my gosh. I'm so glad to see y'all.
12:31
Can you Hey, ladies. How are y'all? I'm
12:35
Paula.
12:36
And I see you've already met Michael.
12:39
Yes. Yes. This is just wonderful uh that
12:43
we're all together to celebrate Green
12:44
Ring's birthday.
12:46
Listen, we did it two three months ago
12:48
and we just celebrated being together.
12:51
This is just wonderful.
12:53
Hey, Murphy. They cooking.
12:56
[Music]
12:59
Isn't it delicious?
13:01
What did you like best, Mary Brown?
13:05
Grilled petta cheese sandwich. Was that
13:07
good? Fried green tomato on the
13:10
vegetables were different. That was
13:12
Those were root vegetables and had a
13:14
little pesto sauce on it. Uhhuh. They
13:16
were good, weren't they? Good.
13:18
Delicious. Uhhuh. Different and good.
13:22
Come on. Let's go see what these ladies
13:24
are doing. It's almost time for the
13:26
wonderful dessert.
13:30
Did y'all enjoy your picnic supper?
13:36
How beautiful.
13:40
Isn't that beautiful? Come on, you can
13:42
do it. You can do it. I'll help you.
13:48
I tell you what, let me get you a knife
13:50
and you cut it here and then we'll do
13:51
the other dessert, too. Okay.
13:57
Oh my goodness.
14:01
[Applause]
14:02
Well, it's just beautiful and it's
14:05
delicious. It's It good. It's so pound
14:10
cakey.
14:11
[Music]
14:13
It is three layers that are this thick.
14:16
It's pound cake. Don't you know the
14:18
colors?
14:21
Come on, ladies. We're going to corral
14:23
up and have our picture made. Come on,
14:25
Doris. Y'all get in.
14:29
Y'all come. Where's Sandra with the
14:30
camera?
14:32
Have you tried to move 26 that can
14:35
hardly move, walk, eat, or cheat? I'm
14:39
just Thank you, God, for not letting
14:41
anyone choke. Y'all are so beautiful. I
14:45
mean, just meet you. She's going to get
14:48
She's going to get in the mix. Oh, okay.
14:51
How perfect.
14:53
All right, Paula, get in there with them
14:54
so we can What a privilege it is. Y'all
14:57
truly are the creme de la creme of
15:01
Albany, Georgia. And what a privilege it
15:04
is for me to be here amongst you fine,
15:07
fine women.
15:09
All right, where can I get? Do any of
15:11
y'all still play bridge?
15:16
Is she the oldest kid?
15:19
[Applause]
15:20
And you look like you're about 20.
15:26
Glad you did it again. Go do it one more
15:28
time. We'll keep doing it until
15:31
you've done so much.
15:34
I'm so glad you did this. I love being
15:39
me. I appreciate it so much. Oh, I'm so
15:42
glad you could help.
15:45
It does slant down.
15:48
Thank you.
15:50
[Music]
15:52
Well, I just have to say that this party
15:55
I'm going to have a chance.
15:57
No, y'all did a beautiful job. It was
15:59
just beautiful. And it was when I stood
16:02
on the front porch and helping those
16:03
little ladies get down. One went, I got
16:05
it. And I said, "Yes, ma'am." And she
16:08
goes, "I sure did enjoy myself. This was
16:11
a beautiful party." And I said, "Did
16:13
y'all have any idea that Paula was
16:15
coming?" Not a clue. One of them said,
16:18
"This was better than a little girl
16:20
waiting for Santa Claus." Oh, now that's
16:22
that's a best compliment. It is. It is.
16:25
What time does the reunion start
16:27
tomorrow night?
16:29
6 I think 6:30. Is that right? 6:30.
16:31
6:30. But in the morning, um Brandon
16:34
said that um you needed to do some
16:36
downtime. So, uh he said to make you an
16:39
appointment with the lady that I go to
16:40
for facials. Are you kidding? Uh-uh. You
16:44
need to do that. And then um I've had
16:47
one facial in my whole entire life. Are
16:49
you kidding me? Well, you will just be
16:50
I've never I've only had one facial.
16:53
Your face will glow like a baby's butt.
16:56
Well, just like Susan's. It take a lot
16:58
to make this whole face glow. Thank you.
17:01
Thank you, Miss But it's been a
17:02
wonderful evening and thank you. So, if
17:05
y'all like that, tune in next week for
17:09
part two cuz there was definitely more.
17:13
The space that you live in really
17:16
affects the way you feel. So, my first
17:18
recommendation is start by updating your
17:22
window treatments with Smith and Noble.
17:24
Smith and Noble's beautiful handcrafted
17:26
blinds, drapes, shades, and shutters are
17:29
custom made just for you, and they offer
17:31
different service options to fit your
17:33
needs. To get started today, contact
17:36
Smith & Noble to get my special limited
17:39
time offer. 25% off on your window
17:42
treatments, plus free design
17:44
consultation. Create a space that you're
17:48
going to love. For details about my
17:50
special offer, go to smith &oble.com/pa.
17:55
That's smith &oble.com/paula
17:58
or call 1-8006593300.
18:04
That's 1 800659-3300.
#Food & Drink
#Hobbies & Leisure