Hey there Stevie baby,
Happy Mothers' Day. I know you're thinking about your mom today, as we all are. I know you must miss her a lot too. She was a very beautiful woman. And though I really don't know much about your dad, WOW you really look amazingly like his twin. I love old photos like this. I found it on the internet somewhere, I can't remember who posted it.
Here's one of mine that I'll share with you, too....
Meet my grandpa and grandma. Leonard Cornelius, and Ruby Catherine. I don't know if they won an Oscar or WHAT, but it sure looks like they're holding one! I miss my grandmother a lot, she and I had a special bond. She was a spitfire, with bright red hair and a feisty attitude! Irish in origin. My grandpa had a Dutch background I think. She and I laughed and laughed a lot when I was a kid because I would "name her game," and then she couldn't play it on me anymore.
She was sometimes very onery, bratty, rude, and sometimes even a little mean. And when she acted like that, I would scowl and do the same thing, mimicking her, and then she would laugh and feel silly for it. I was the ONLY grandchild who could get away with that snarky stuff without being smacked! hehehehe She and I would go to a store in Michigan called Meijers, and just sit in the cafeteria to watch people for a few hours, and have lunch. She would sit there and make up stories for people, too, and we would chuckle and have fun just imagining things about them.
Then she'd ask me to mow her lawn or vacuum her house, and---well, I don't have to tell YOU this----but I was a sneaky little stinker---(yeah, I KNOW! Hard to believe, right?!) ---So I would deliberately screw something up, run over a rug or something, to clog up the whole thing--just so she would get up and yell, "AW HELL, JAYZUS CRIPES, GIMME THAT THING! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO DO THAT!" And then I'd sit down and let her do it!! hehehehehe She fell for that a few times, actually, but then realized it and grinned when she called me on it..."You're a sneaky little shit, Rebecca, ya know that?!" and I just grinned right back at her. I really loved that cranky old bat.
She'd look me up and down, every time I went to visit, and she'd scowl and say, "Rebecca, I do believe you're gettin' FAT." And I'd look HER up and down, and say, "Grammaw, I do believe you need to grow a BOOB." And she would laugh and laugh...but if my sisters ever tried to say something to her like that, look out, they were in trouble!!! She told me once that I was her favorite grandchild. I told her she was my favorite grandma. For some reason, I just didn't put up with her nonsense, and she knew it, and it worked. She and my mom would bicker like fishwives, though, and one day I got sick of hearing it, so I told them to knock it off or I'd clunk both of their heads together. They fell all over each other laughing about it, because that's what my mom used to say to my sisters and I when we were bickering and fighting about something!
Everybody called my grandpa "Tiny" because he was a BIG DUDE. The two of them met on a bus, when he returned from WWII, and 3 weeks later, they were hitched. He's wearing his army uniform in this photo I think. My grandma passed away in 1997, and my grandpa died in 1980.
My grandma opened my very first bank account for me, but I had to learn the deaf alphabet and spell certain words that she tested me on, in order to earn the $25. I still remember the ABC's of the deaf alphabet because of her. She was always interested in learning stuff like that, and she loved Helen Keller. She also loved the Pink Panther cartoons, I would spend the night with her, and we would watch Mr. Magoo, and the Pink Panther, and then I'd go to bed. She was from the south, and said words funny sometimes like, "foke," instead of "fork," or "warsh-cloth" instead of "washcloth." She'd say, "Hand me that pillah over there," and I'd say, "Do you mean the architectural ROMAN PILLAR, or the PILLOW that's on the couch?!" and she would throw the pillow back at me, "Smart ass." hehehehe
My grandpa and I would sometimes go out on "dates," too. He would take me to McDonalds, then we would go to a music store and he would buy me an album or a 45 record, (he loved music, and he's the one who got me turned on to Motown...Ray Charles was one of his favorites, and Etta James...and Aretha...Stevie Wonder...he was really into all the black singers of that time period, and he loved organ music and drums too, so he had a lot of instrumental albums. He even had some JACKIE GLEASON albums!! You name it, if it was jazz or rhythm and blues, he absolutely loved it).
But one time, on our date, I picked up a BEE GEES album, and he cringed..."are you SURE that's the one you want?!" he asked me. I was 12...shortly before he died. Then he hung his head when I squealed "YES! Please GRAMPAW?!" and I still have that damned thing. He did NOT like disco music AT ALL. But I remember he had 8 track tapes in his truck and we would listen to them a lot. He bought me a cassette tape of Donna Summer's, "Bad Girls," too, which I thought was COOL AS HELL. My mom did not approve, but I had NO CLUE that it was all about prostitution and sex...I was naiive....sheltered and young...all I knew was, my grandpa liked it too, and I just liked the songs. But wow, I listen to some of that now, and think, "Damn, no WONDER I'm a wild kinky thing!" LOL My grandpa---ooooohhh LAWD, was HE a dirty ole man...he used to take nudie pictures of all his girlfriends---after my grandma divorced him---for filandering. But, despite his inability to control his wandering eye, they remained close friends for the rest of their lives. So, yeah, my quirky kink apparently runs in the family!! hehehehe
My grandpa also had a "magic gift," (which is the title of a short story I wrote for my children's book correspondence class years ago)...he had narcolepsy, so he would fall asleep in the middle of whatever he would be doing---he'd start telling us kids a story, for example, and then in the middle of it when it was starting to get good, he'd suddenly nod off, and ZZZZZZZ, out like a light. We'd laugh and then go out to play, and hours later, he would wake up, and resume the same story from where he left off! We all thought that was awesome, and wished WE could do that in SCHOOL too!
So, there ya go, some interesting stories about my grandma and grandpa. Someday I'd like to know some stories about your parents and grandparents too. That would be sweet. I love that stuff.
Today Pete and I drove to the Alzheimer facility where Florence is now staying, and took her out with my mom to the Outback Steakhouse for a nice lunch. They had a great time. Then Flo took us on a tour of her new digs, she's really settled in to living there, and she seems very happy, and enjoying herself. She told us about how she walks around the place holding the railing on the wall every day, to get her exercise---she is now standing and walking straighter than I have seen in a LONG time. She doesn't seem confused AT ALL, she seems very coherent, very sharp, and very "in the now." We were happily surprised, and she even cracked a few jokes! Then we drove her back and sat with her awhile as she opened some cards that we received in the mail. Then we had her call Pete's sister, and they chatted a bit. After that, we said our goodbyes and went home.
Later on, MY mom asked if we could go to the JoAnn Fabrics store, (her favorite place because she's a yarn-aholic). We took off and had a nice girls day of shopping there, (while Pete took a nap), and we also had to go to one of MY favorite stores, Half Off Bookstore. I could spend the whole damned DAY in that place...and a whole paycheck. But instead, I found a few awesome 1966-1969 mint condition Playboy magazines for Pete. (We are friends with Doug Sneyd, an artist who draws sexy women cartoons in Playboy and has worked for them since 1966). Pete really liked that a lot.
Anyway, so that was our day. Now I'm tired, and ready to put on my jammies....7 p.m., how sad...but okay, I worked my butt off in the yard yesterday, my arms HURT from that damned weed wacker... and then I used the push mower to do the edging while Pete rode his lawn tractor...(his favorite toy, I STILL don't know how the heck to drive it)! So today my whole body is protesting against me. I'm achey, but I think a little more sleep will make me feel better. We drove up to Cleveland last night for a party with some friends, and got back at about 2 a.m., and stayed up until about 3 a.m., so I'm pooped.
This may sound silly, but in a weird way, I think my grandparents look down on me and smile a lot....so, in the same way, I know your mom probably looks down on you too, and smiles at you every day. She'll always be with you, Stephen. A bond between a mother and son is impossible to break. So even though she's not here with you, she's still alive and well in your heart. That's all that matters. And by telling you some fun stories about my grandparents, they are still alive in MY heart too.
Bye for now.
Love, Rebecca
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