santa, grandpa
Dec. 8th, 2004 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fearlesstempI'm sure lots of people had wild weekends full of debauchery, but I ask you – did anyone else get to ride on an old school fire truck with Santa on Sunday?
I was out at a festival with an assortment of female relatives, including my seven year old cousin Emma, who insisted that I ride on the fire truck with her and her mother. I felt kind of assholish because there was a looooong line of kids behind me waiting to ride in the truck with Santa, but I couldn't let The Emster down, and so I followed her up onto the back of the truck pretended to act like I was nobly suffering for the sake of the child, when really I was excited. It was totally fun.
Anyway, before the winter festival, Emma stopped by my house and met our new kitten Dusty, and today she sent me the cutest E-card ever - the text was:
hi jess i loved your new kitten dusty he is so cute i could just eat him up .
Oh, the cuteness! It threatens to overwhelm!
On the not so cute side, I went to visit my grandfather tonight. I've been trying to ask him more about his life, since he's done a lot of interesting things. Tonight I asked him about my grandmother, how they met, etc. The highlights:
-The way he said he first got connected with her: "My beloved sister Eleanor was down at college and got to know Paula, your grandmother's sister, when they exchanged certain feminine hygeine products women need at certain times of the month."
-How he asked her out: "I called and said I was a Hollywood producer looking for Lois M. She was out with another guy, Jimmy Something, but I didn't think he was competition since I was just home from the war and very confident about myself."
-Their dating adventures, which included running out of gas in the snow a mile from my grandmother's house in the country. My grandmother was wearing an evening gown but didn't complain.
-A too-long foray into TMIville: "And there was no funny business," he said. "It was all on the up and up. It was better that way. All we did was hold hands, or the equivalent of that – necking, really, which was mostly –"
At that point I started waving my hands around wildly to distract him.
Right before I left, the American Legion stopped by and dropped off a decoration for him. My grandfather trotted out his usual army joke ("I only served four years but I did save one German in the war, you know. I shot at him and missed.").
After they left, I opened up the card they dropped off and realized that they were from our ARCH RIVAL AMERICAN LEGION POST! My brother played American Legion baseball for years and this post totally kicked his team's ass regularly and without mercy. They were always super-organized and had players that looked like they'd walked out of a Yankees training camp instead of the dregs of the area's JV squads (our team).
The inspirational way to close this would be to tell you about how my brother's team eventually toppled their arch rival in the quest for the state championship, but I can offer no such inspiration. The best I can muster is my brother saying, "I think we beat them once. Maybe."
And now, to bed.
I was out at a festival with an assortment of female relatives, including my seven year old cousin Emma, who insisted that I ride on the fire truck with her and her mother. I felt kind of assholish because there was a looooong line of kids behind me waiting to ride in the truck with Santa, but I couldn't let The Emster down, and so I followed her up onto the back of the truck pretended to act like I was nobly suffering for the sake of the child, when really I was excited. It was totally fun.
Anyway, before the winter festival, Emma stopped by my house and met our new kitten Dusty, and today she sent me the cutest E-card ever - the text was:
hi jess i loved your new kitten dusty he is so cute i could just eat him up .
Oh, the cuteness! It threatens to overwhelm!
On the not so cute side, I went to visit my grandfather tonight. I've been trying to ask him more about his life, since he's done a lot of interesting things. Tonight I asked him about my grandmother, how they met, etc. The highlights:
-The way he said he first got connected with her: "My beloved sister Eleanor was down at college and got to know Paula, your grandmother's sister, when they exchanged certain feminine hygeine products women need at certain times of the month."
-How he asked her out: "I called and said I was a Hollywood producer looking for Lois M. She was out with another guy, Jimmy Something, but I didn't think he was competition since I was just home from the war and very confident about myself."
-Their dating adventures, which included running out of gas in the snow a mile from my grandmother's house in the country. My grandmother was wearing an evening gown but didn't complain.
-A too-long foray into TMIville: "And there was no funny business," he said. "It was all on the up and up. It was better that way. All we did was hold hands, or the equivalent of that – necking, really, which was mostly –"
At that point I started waving my hands around wildly to distract him.
Right before I left, the American Legion stopped by and dropped off a decoration for him. My grandfather trotted out his usual army joke ("I only served four years but I did save one German in the war, you know. I shot at him and missed.").
After they left, I opened up the card they dropped off and realized that they were from our ARCH RIVAL AMERICAN LEGION POST! My brother played American Legion baseball for years and this post totally kicked his team's ass regularly and without mercy. They were always super-organized and had players that looked like they'd walked out of a Yankees training camp instead of the dregs of the area's JV squads (our team).
The inspirational way to close this would be to tell you about how my brother's team eventually toppled their arch rival in the quest for the state championship, but I can offer no such inspiration. The best I can muster is my brother saying, "I think we beat them once. Maybe."
And now, to bed.
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no subject
Date: 2004-12-07 10:16 pm (UTC)That is so darn BRILLIANT. Certain products at certain times of the month! I love that, and indeed this whole entry.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-14 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-07 10:57 pm (UTC)Anyway, I took Andrew on the truck at the tree farm where we cut our Christmas tree. I've been meaning to post about it, but haven't had the chance.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-14 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-08 06:26 am (UTC)ha! I love your family and I love the way you write about them.
this reply is so late!
Date: 2004-12-14 05:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-08 06:57 am (UTC)LOLOLOL! I think I am in love with your grandfather.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-14 05:49 pm (UTC)I love Grampa Jim stories!!!
Date: 2004-12-08 08:05 am (UTC)Did you ever get the postcard I sent you?
Re: I love Grampa Jim stories!!!
Date: 2004-12-14 05:50 pm (UTC)And OMG! I did get your postcard! I LOVE it! You are awesome. Awesome!
no subject
Date: 2004-12-09 11:02 pm (UTC)I went with my nephew (who is just three months old) to have his picture taken with Santa. Okay, more like convinced the sis-in-law it was a good idea. Then I had my own solo picture with Santa. Heh.
As for grandpa, there are fun stories and then there are way TMI stories. Really, no need to scar me for life. ;)
[Michelle]
no subject
Date: 2004-12-14 05:52 pm (UTC)I love that you got a solo picture with Santa! I've always wanted to do that.