The Table Naming

2022 3rd & 4th Grade Prose Winner

It was a hot day in Philadelphia. The year was 2016. Me and my mom had just arrived
at my grandma’s house. “Finally, we made it” I thought. I slept half of the way there
in the hot car. I was tired, but when I saw my grandma, I felt a spark of joy.

“Grandma!” I said as she warmly hugged me. Then I slowly walked inside, took off
my shoes and stood in the living room. I was a five-year old ready to venture around
my grandma’s house from attic to basement. I started to slowly turn the knob to the
mysterious basement when my grandma said that she wanted to tell me a story. I
asked what type of story and she said, “a story about a table.”

The story started with my great, great aunt Gracie going to a store to buy a table for
our family. Aunt Gracie like me was Black. But she looked like a White woman. The
owner liked Aunt Gracie and he said he would throw in a free “leaf” to the table. My
grandma explained how this piece of wood would make the round table for eight
people even bigger.

The next day Gracie asked her sister my great, great grandmother Maddie to pick up
the family’s new table. When Maddie arrived the store owner would not give her the
table because he said there was no way she was related to the woman who was there
yesterday.

A few hours later Gracie came back to the store herself. They were raising their
voices and screaming at each other. Gracie said to give her the table that she paid for.
At first, he refused but then he decided to give her the table but without the leaf.

After telling me the story my grandma asked me to name the table. Without thinking I
shouted, “Fred.” (If you are thinking why in the heck did you name it Fred. Well,
don’t judge me I was only five years old at the time).

“Are you sure?” My grandma asked.

“Yes. Fred???,” I slowly said as my mom chuckled.

Fred is now more than 100 years old. He moved from Virginia and now lives in my
grandma’s house in Philadelphia. He’s made from a smoothed cherrywood tree. And
he welcomed people who were famous and regular. He even greeted Martin Luther
King Jr. with open arms. Fred is about the size of four TV’s.

Fred makes me feel joy and happiness because he brings happy and fun memories.
He feels like family because he makes me feel safe and comfortable when I’m around
him.

Now that I am 10 years old, I now know the important parts of the story like how old
the table is and why he is important to my family. Every time I visit my grandma I eat
at the ancient table. I eat with Fred and think about all the people who he met, and all
the stories Fred has to tell.