Grandma’s Stories

Aug 7th “Our Big Excitement Fifty-Three Years Ago”

Did You See Dinosaurs?

1967 Dinosaurs come to South  St.Louis County!  

At the time we lived in this area… I remember a Bank, Grocery Store and Famous Barr Department store in the  corner of South Lindbergh and Lemay Ferry Roads.

Today everything has just simply expanded so much so that this area is highly congested in the Fall of the year…  trying to accomodate all of the people that find … this to be the best shopping area.

This section brings in more money than any other area of St.Louis County! …  That’s because this area welcomed the Dinosaurs!

******* Tallest Man*******

Tallest Man in 1967.  

 That is Al Aldrich and Lee Aldrich standing next to the  “Tallest Man”   and … recently,  Al said  that  he remembered this visit and everything we were doing this day!

This is the same year their father died,  and I did try to be  “Father and Mother” and everything else…  just to make up for  no longer having their  “DAD” … someone that they loved and were missing.

Jul 26th “Live and Learn to FLY Today…Forever”

Pre Flight Test!

How’s the  “AIR”  up there?

This is Cape Canaveral, Florida  and we are on our way to  Merrit Island  to visit our cousin  Jimmie Brady Shilling.

I remember…  as if it were  just yesterday…  our loading up the vehicle with just about everything that you can think of… since we… the whole family were invited to stay a week  with the  “Shillings!

To be able to just leave the house and not fix Breakfast for all of us first…  and  then a hundred other  little things that one does have to think of… when you know… that you will not be home for a week… is something we were able to do back then.

One thing that I can say now… we never had a key to the front door… or any door… as we never did lock the doors… I do not believe anyone  took the time to lock their doors… back then!

I did all the driving … do not  know why… but when I bought my car… it just seem to be the thing to  do and my husband left the driving up to me and so with me at the wheel … just driving up the  Florida Highway  coast and  far enough away from home … with an eye looking out for a good place to  stop for  our breakfast.

We  started our day nice and early, just so  that we could stop at a fancy  eat-in  restaurant,  other than our own… and just sit back and enjoy the comfort of being waited on… and not thinking of doing any clean up… as families usually do at home when you have small children. I can still see all of us… just having fun and enjoying  the time having some relaxing fun time… no real work for a week!

We were planning on staying a week and enjoying the  swimming at  Jimmy’s  place on  Merrit Island.  They had spent some time  at our home in Ft.Lauderdale, and said to come up to their place just as soon as we could make the arrangements and plan on  doing some sightseeing.

That is little  Al Aldrich, sitting  and holding his hands… I just  can not see nor tell from the above picture… if he is about to cry or if he feels that he will be stuck up there too long… as he can see all around the area… from his…  top of the whole world  position!

Al is near or he is  just 2 years of age, sitting  so high and all  by himself.

Al made a solo trip from Ft.Lauderdale  to St.Louis, MO   via Eastern Air Lines  at the age of eighteen months.   He is happy  now. being a licensed pilot  and as of today … I believe that   Helicopters are his favorite!

Jan 3rd “NEW Year… as Remember by song and words”

  “Can NOT and Do NOT want to Forget anyone”

This may not be  a “NEW YEAR’s” to you… but to me…everyone in the FAMILY  is  having their “BIRTHDAY”  coming up in  one week and or  a day  all celebrating  “Happy TIMES”  whether they are here on EARTH  with us… and or  even if they went on to the “GREAT BEYOND” but, I know that they still want to hear from me!  D.V.

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus. For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint stowp!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
Sin’ auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin’ auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

Auld Lang Syne’ is, of course, among the most recognisable poems or songs written in English, thanks to its popularity at New Year celebrations around the world. The last line should technically be ‘For auld lang syne’ rather than ‘For the sake of auld lang syne’ … the three extra syllables are usually added to avoid stretching that monosyllabic ‘For’… for – well, for a long, long time, but they aren’t in the original (whoever the ‘original’ may have written  it).

To ‘tak a right gude-willie waught’ may sound borderline rude, but it actually means simply ‘take some good will’ or ‘have a drink together’. So, now we know. And while we’re glossing words, ‘jo’ means ‘joy’ (in ‘my jo’), ‘ye’ll be your pint stowp’ means ‘you’ll pay for your pint cup’, ‘braes’ are slopes, to have ‘pou’d the gowans’ is to have pulled the daisies, and your ‘fitt’ is your foot. A ‘burn’, of course, is a stream, while ‘dine’ is dinner-time. ‘Braid’ means broad, and your ‘fiere’ is your friend.

Like many good songs, ‘Auld Lang Syne’ has a refrain, and is organised into quatrains rhyming abcb, with the last line iterating the title, ‘Auld Lang Syne’. How many people link arms and sing the song every New Year without being aware either of the title’s meaning or the fact that Robert Burns never wrote it?

And this next few lines… I can still hear my “MOTHER”  quoting “Robert Burns” and saying these words,  exactly as they should be said…  as only someone,  from Ireland can  do!

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion:
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
An’ ev’n devotion!

‘To a Louse’, a poem written in the Habbie dialect, sees Robert Burns musing upon the louse that he spots crawling on a lady’s bonnet in church…  the louse does not observe class distinctions and regards all human beings equally, as potential hosts. As Burns concludes, ‘O wad some Power the giftie gie us / To see oursels as ithers see us!’ Such a power or ability would save us a lot of bother and ‘foolish notions’; but we cannot see ourselves as others see us. The one thing we cannot do is take the view of that louse.

“Seriously please tell me if you see a bug…  in my hair. That’s disgusting.”