No Shoes and Tender Foot
There was a man within ear shot, stating how annoyed he was all these years with his wife who is always taking her shoes off, anywhere and everywhere! Her standard question is to anyone: “Have you seen my shoes?” And the husband’s answer: “Where were you last?”
My problem is just the opposite, I have to always have a pair of shoes on. My feet are so “tender” even with the shoes on I feel rocks and odd stuff , even tried thick sole shoes, and no help? In the 1940’s my friend Alice , came to my house on a hot day like today. She looked cool and had no shoes on! She very seldom wore shoes, so I begged my Mother to let me , “go barefoot”? We were going to take “soda bottles” back for ” bottle deposit refunds”. So, I was given permission to go “barefoot”. Only had to cross one street and walk one block.
We each had a carton of bottles. We crossed the street, and I started tip-toeing on the sidewalk and jumping on the grass, when possible! I didn’t think I could make it? Got the soda deposit refund money, and we tried to hurry on my account – my feet couldn’t take the heat, Alice was having no problem at all! You’ll never catch me without my shoes – and on!
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“Treasure Box”
Instead of buying items to collect, it came to me while looking through some old boxes, the things to collect are the things your children are making for you. One item in my son, Al’s collection of early days in school , was a “Plaster of Paris” ‘hand’ in a silver color. This is a 1st class collectible! Compare his hand then and now, “only a treasure”!
Some where I have a larger box from the “Famous Barr Department” store, covered in “Christmas” wrapping paper – must have had a gift in that box for it’s first use – so now looking beautiful, it becomes the “Treasure Box”, that I put everything in of the “Grand kids, every thing! Several years ago, I pulled that box out for the ” entertainment” for the Grand kids to check out? They couldn’t believe that I would save all their stuff? They were so surprised – the oh’s and ah’s – I can’t believe it! – I remember this! “Oh, this is when I played the school teacher and you were one of my students, Grandma!”
With happy comments and reviving of old memories – a Treasure Box is one of the “Best Ideas” I’ve thought of!
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Going on My Way?
Just stopped looking for an old picture of the old St.Louis Brown’s Ball Team, with their names written on the backside. It’s older than me, and where it is hiding is a real mystery?It takes a long time to find one particular item, because I have to stop on my way to read old letters, cards. to and from every old person , you could name in the family time machine.
Some of the stuff, my old report cards, and they have red or blue stars – silver stars and gold stars were worth 15 cents and the silver a dime. So at the end of the school year , your stars paid off for good grades , good behavior in school and good behavior in the Orphan Home. It all adds up! Maybe this practice should be adopted in the schools today?
This was a large box, with report cards for my sons, lots of their first couple of school years drawings and school projects, lessons of learning. One project that I liked was each child made a large folder , decorated front and back and also inside, and each of his projects, works of art and lessons for each subject for the semester were in there.
I have several more boxes , making me think I’m a time traveler. Start the road alone and with the time going by – a wide paper trail left behind. Well wishes, birthday cards, scout banquet , athletic achievement certificates, Get Well Wishes — Wedding Announcements -Sympathy Acknowledgements — All Alone on an Undetermined Adventure!
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“Fun Grandma”
My son Al, has three children who are very lucky, because they have three (3) living grandmas and one (1) great grandma. They are truly blessed with Almighty God’s blessings! Each of us grandmas has been given a name, they call me the “Fun Grandma”.
My Mother, said a least a million times, “the first seven years of a child’s life are the most important, it is in these years that they learn everything they will use for he rest of their life!” So, when the grandchildren started to come along, I knew that this was my chance to give them the best quality time ever!
We had a cedar lined closet along one basement wall with all sorts of games and artistic supplies, so I found the memory game and others like that , and modified them for use for the grandchildren and for their age. Every available time possible we played and they were learning and remembering so well. They were always telling everybody about all the fun we were having. The didn’t know they were learning!
The fun and games carried over to when I would do the birthday parties and other occasions. Their friends always wanted to be invited to their parties, each child knew they took home a prize because they won games and had fun, and a memory too good to forget!
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Lee and Grandma “Go Go”
So, my son, Lee. said “I remember Grandma Go Go!” (my husband’s mother”s name was Louise and the grandkids called her GM “Lulu” and my mother was GM “Go Go”) These names stuck like glue! The kids got a kick out of GM “Lulu”, because she was on the hard of hearing side, a great deal of the time, except if you were talking about her , she could hear every word, even in another room?
Anyway, Lee said that he may have been 5 or 6 years old, and we picked up GM “Go Go”, at the “High Rise” building where she was living, and drove to downtown, St.Louis, parked the car in the “Department” garage, and walked across the glass enclosed walkway, which was about 3 floors above street level and right into the Department store. Lee said, we all did some Christmas shopping and when done we went to, “Miss Hulling’s Restaurant”, which was a favorite of Grandma’s.
A real memory was on Graduation Day. Lee remembered the neighbor, across the road, sold one of his horses, and was trying to load it up into the horse trailer, the horse reared up and the front leg landed into a cross section of the ramp and broke. He went into his house and came out a few minutes later with a hand gun and shot the horse in the ear as he laid along side the road.
Later that day, after Graduation exercises, and with GM “Go Go” still with us in the car, we all did our share of loking at the poor horse waiting to be picked up.
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Baby sitter age “83”
My other Grandmother Anne E.. Smart Brady, who was my mother’s mother, got to be the oldest living Brady, that I know of, and she got to know me! My mother told me that babies are still communicating with Angels, that’s why everybody falls in love with the new baby in the household. I had ask my mother about her mother and me, because I couldn’t remember her and we had so many old pictures that included her and other old people I had not met? I just wanted all the info.?
So my mother told me that she thought that she may have done the wrong thing, one time. She needed to go to the store, and knew that she would not be gone too long and that I, (the baby was still sound asleep) , so she left my Grandmother baby sit me. My mother said that I was around three (3) months old, and that I usually slept long periods at a time. So I was left in my Grandmother’s care.
Sure enough, my mother left and returned, and as soon as she was back, went in to check on me and I was still sound asleep. And my Grandmother, told my Mother, she was in hopes that I would wake – so she could rock me back to sleep!
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