From Where I Sit

By Pat Spilseth, Columnist

Isn’t being told you’re going to be a grandparent the best news ever? Dave and I love being called Grandma and Grandpa. Immediately after hearing the baby news, I started dreaming of holding the little one on my lap, reading nursery rhymes and stories to her or him. It’ll be our very special time together…

We have so many stories to share with our grandchildren. I couldn’t wait to see Olivia, Henry, Billy or Sophia and Liam to tell her or him all about Howdy Doody, the Lone Ranger, swinging on the Tarzan vines at Monkey Vine Palace, and sharing Christmas around the tree with our prisoners at the jail where I grew up when Dad was sheriff.

Hopefully, one of my kids’ favorite TV programs will still be on TV so my grandchild will be able to enjoy Sesame Street. My kids, Kate and Andy, were especially fond of Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird. We’d laugh at Oscar’s grumpy comments followed by the next program, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, with his soothing, comforting voice. When I tell my precious grandbaby that we couldn’t see any pictures on our black and white TV until it warmed up with several minutes of fuzzy white snowflakes, I’m sure she’ll shake her head with wonder. Black and white, what’s that?

It’ll be such fun to tell my grandchild about how, when I was growing up, I’d spend all day with my friends at the beach or out in the woods, finally coming home for supper when the whistle blew, telling me it was time to eat. I’ll enjoy telling her about the handsome Lone Ranger on TV with his black mask and his sidekick Tonto riding horses. I’d explain that my friends and I would spend hours searching through the grass on our lawn for a four leaf clover or for a shiny penny on the street. As he/she grows, I know it’ll be amazing that my weekly allowance of a quarter allowed me to go to a movie and have popcorn and Black Dot candies, which I ate while rocking in a double seat at the movie theatre. The tooth fairy left a dime, not a dollar or more, for my teeth I lost and put under my pillow. After one or two stories, the child will  probably be itching to get outside and play, rather than listen to Grandma’s tales.

Grandchildren will be amazed to learn that in high school girls wore nylons and a girdle, even though we had no tummy or rear end to cinch in. Who hears of nylons in these times! Our first nylons came with two separate legs, not the pantyhose we pull on so rarely today. Some girls went steady, preferring to spend all their time with just one boy. She’d twist angora thread to fit his class ring on her finger.

Our future teenager will probably be riding in self-driving electric cars. Won’t they be shocked when I tell her that people had to buy gas to get our cars to run? Back in the Fifties and Sixties, gas was so cheap kids could cruise Main Street Saturday nights, even go to an outdoor movie theatre in Alexandria, with kids in the trunk on Buck Nite. There would still be gas in the tank for our folks to drive all week without another fill-up. They won’t know about families having only one gas powered car, drive in movies nor phones with cords.

In Grandma’s day, there was always a gas station attendant to pump the gas, wash the windshield, check the oil, even put air in the tires for no extra charge. We even received green stamps at some filling stations. We’d save those green stamps for months, paste them in a booklet and, eventually, if we accumulated the number of required stamps, we could claim free one of the many treasures pictured in the green stamp catalogue. Some grocery stores gave away free items like silverware and china in a box of detergent when we spent enough on our purchases. 

Oh, the stories grandmas and grandpas will want to tell their grandchildren. It’s a world of wonder that we live in. Best of all will be teaching grandchildren to enjoy life’s simple pleasures which are available free every day. We only have to teach them to appreciate the simple joys in life. If only our grandkids will take time away from their TV shows and friends to cuddle with grandparents and let us tell tales to our precious grandchildren.

Ted Kooser, the 30th poet laureate of the United States, wrote about every day, ordinary things like walking in the woods, delighting in spring’s wild flowers, the simple joys of life. He said, “Behind the screen of the ordinary can be found unique and wonderful things.”

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To contact Pat, email: pat.spilseth@gmail.com.