Me and my brother still remember things our grandparents did and talk about them often. Things we did that got us in trouble but they helped so we got off. Both of our grandpa’s were ornery and mischievous and liked to play tricks on us. Both grandma’s were loving and soothed our small injuries and fed us to stuffing. We even had one greatgrandmother who lived long enough for us to remember. She was an easy mooch and always had marshmallow peanuts, candy orange slices and soft peppermints. She was an amazing character, too. Smoked a clay pipe that got so hot I had to use tongs to touch it. Every morning she put liquid HEET on her hands to loosen up the arthritis. I got a drop of it on me and I had to run to the sink and use cold water to wash it off. Felt like molten glass had landed on me.
I’m gonna have to write all the stories down for my grandson.
Speaking of grandparenting, I’m stunned at the number if incidences I’ve run into in the past 10 years of grandparents having to adopt grandchildren because the immediate parents were totally incapable, usually because of drugs. There’s one incidence of that in my family (not immediate, thank God.) My maternal grandparents were Michigan Germans and were pretty gruff, no nonsense at all and not much humor. My paternal grandfather died in 1923, so I never knew him but my paternal grandmother more that made up. She wasn’t ornery or colorful, just pure love. Here’s a shot of my grandmother and dad… Read more »
Great photo. Could be a Norman Rockwell.