New, Old Stories

This post is for my kids, since the stories are about one of their grandmothers.  They are stories that I don't remember hearing before today, so I thought I would pass them along so they could know their grandmother just a little bit better.

G and I went to a Spring Fling today that was sponsored by the retirement residence where Grandma N lives.  We arrived today a little bit after noon.  The Spring Fling included crafts and music (more on that later) and a little family of cats from Stray Rescue.  So we started taking animals, and I mentioned that G will be fine to skip the kittens, because he isn't much of a cat person.  And Grandma N mentions that G and her Grandpa R (now deceased) would have gotten along well.

Grandma N and Grandpa R were married a little over 20 years when Grandpa R passed and a full 3 years before G joined our lives.  They met at McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing).  According to the story we heard today, shortly after they began dating, she had Grandpa R over for dinner.  Grandma N had two cats at that time - a white cat that was not very affectionate (to put it mildly) named Fluffy and a bit more affectionate gray tabby (if I remember right but she could have been black?) whose name I cannot recall at the moment.  Grandpa R informed her early on that he was "not really an animal person, especially not cats."  He grew up in farm country of Oklahoma, and animals belonged outside, not inside your home.

They married anyway - maybe both cats passed away in the meantime? - and Grandma N didn't try to add any additional four-legged family members.

Until...one day, her brother, D, and his wife at the time, C, needed someone to take care of their little 3-year old peekapoo named Mitzi for a few weeks.  They were building a home in Chesterfield, but had sold their home in Fenton already and had to move into an apartment until the new house was ready.  Grandma N and Grandpa R agreed to let Mitzi stay with them during that time.  After a short time, Grandpa R was away for about a week on a business trip.  When he came back, Mitzi won him over.  Mitzi would follow Grandpa R everywhere in the house, so suddenly, she was his dog.

And so they kept Mitzi ever since.  And Grandpa R's family gave him quite a bit of trouble about his now being a dog man.

But that wasn't the end of the story.  Apparently there is a back story.  Grandpa R was not only "not really an animal person."  One time when he was still growing up, he say a man walking a poodle on a leash and uttered "Not me.  Never."  Something about a man and a poodle just went against his macho, testosterone-driven sensibilities.

One time when Grandma N and Grandpa R were going back to Oklahoma to visit his mother, they took Mitzi with them.  They had just sat down for dinner, when Mitzi comes up next to Grandpa R's chair, asking to go outside.  So Grandpa R puts her on her leash and takes her out to take care of business.

The rest of his family can't wait for him to come back inside to harass him, but when he comes back in the door and before they could said anything, he says "She's only half poodle!"

Grandpa R's mother, E, laughed and laughed, and told Grandma N that seeing him walk Mitzi was worth a million dollars to her!

Now we will get back to the music element of today's Spring Fling.  The Ramblers were playing, and Grandma N loves listening to them.  She says she could listen to them all day as they play bluegrass and country.  While they were playing, stories of Grandma N's jitterbug days came up.  So while you may have never seen it, kiddos, your grandmother has quite the jitterbug dancing past.  She would even fly up on her partner's hips.  She would not give us a demonstration today, but you might see if you can talk her into it sometime.

That's all.  Just a couple of little stories about two of your grandparents that you might not have heard or known before.  But stories that can help you know them just a little bit better.