My maternal Grandmother, Mary Lee, was an amazing woman. She's been gone now for many years, and yet I remember her like it was yesterday.
Grandma always carried Chiclets in her purse. I loved this gum, but like any gum I've tried before, once the "sugar" is gone, so am I. I haven't had gum in a very long time. But, when I watch television - sports mostly, more times than not, see a professional ball player (mostly baseball), chomping and chewing away. I guess this is better than when they have tobacco in their mouth. Gross.
Slightly off track,which happens a lot to me, the family joined Grandma for I believe Thursday night television - again, I don't remember why. There was always popcorn, and some left over for the next day. Before I went to school on Fridays, I stopped by my Grandmother's house and ate cold popcorn with her. Without making any suggestion from me, she had her radio tuned into a channel playing, at that time anyway, popular music. Now considered oldies, but not forgotten, at least by me.
When our family would go on road trips, Grandma and I shared a bedroom. Obviously, our age difference made no difference. She and I would spend some time before going to sleep, to talk about things.
There was a time when stores carried hats. Remember those? Well Grandma and I would always make a bee line to the hat section. And, like two giggling teenagers, would try on the most colorful and decorated hats first. Once done with that, just regular hats. It was great fun. Alas, there is no hat section in department stores anymore. Sad.
When I was in high school, she would drive me to school and pick me up after school. When I fell off a trampoline in gym class, it was my Grandmother that came to the school to fetch me. To be fair, my Mother was working a full-time job, so leaving work for what amounted to trivial things, wasn't practical.
When she and I were in public, we enjoyed watching normal folk going about their business. We, were never rude, but we had a lot to say to each other, when some ridiculous behavior or clothes, would catch our eye. "Polite" giggling on our part, was just something we did. Grandma would be appalled by the current clothes standards. Back in the day, you dressed up when traveling by plane. Dresses, skirts, plus a hat for Grandma. It seems that almost nobody "dresses up" anymore. We as a society have come to terms with ripped jeans, flip flops, as well as piercing in places other than ears, when we go to, for instance, the Kennedy Center. Just saying.
In the 60's, when going to a performance of any kind, we "ladies" always wore nice dresses, and sometimes heels. I remember the first panty hose I owned came in a plastic egg. In my teenage years, there were actual stores that sold only nylons. Each pair of nylons came in a little box, and when I had decided on a color I liked, the sales person would lovingly bring out the nylons. She would then gently put her hand inside the nylons, so you could better see the color. Boy, are those days gone!
I ran across the following, during a recent search. How many of you remember some things, or any things, from your past. In case you're wondering, my score of these memories was 11. The quiz says that I'm older than "dirt". I already knew that I was old. At my age, and perhaps yours as well, have wonderful memories of things past
I remember wearing my skate key around my neck. Everybody did. And, in those days, you put the roller skates over your shoes, and then "rollered" (sp) down the sidewalk. Good memories.
Have a great day.
P
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