She has seen 16 Presidents come and go in her lifetime. Her first car was a Tin Lizzie, or for those who don't know, a Ford Model T. She has lived through both World Wars and the Great depression and when she and her husband bought their first home in Washington Township NJ, they paid a hundred dollars for it. She has been robbed at gunpoint while attending the funeral of a loved one, along with everyone else who happened to be in the church. She has traveled the world but not until after she visited every State in the Country. She is sometimes loud and obnoxious and always, always speaks her mind. To a fault. Like the time we were at the grocery store and she told the overweight lady purchasing a cake to put it away, because she didn't need it. (Lets talk about wanting to melt into the floor!) She has been married three times and never divorced. She is the best history lesson one could ask for, when she is on top of her game. At other times she is a tad bit forgetful and somewhat childlike in her mannerisms. She rode a motorbike on her Ninetieth birthday, because she though it looked fun.
She is now in her 96th year and is my closest friend here in Florida. On Sunday she accompanied my family and I to Universal Studios for the day, where she grinned like a child when she rode the rides with me. The ones she was able to, of course. I made her sit in a wheelchair so I could wheel her around for the day, to which she protested, but did just the same. Wee, who has always been rather shy around her, took over the wheelchair duties immediately. Young and chivalrous, I watched from the sidelines as he took her from place to place and gently explained things to her. Where they got the ideas for the rides, what movies were associated with them. I watched as she listened to him, learning from him. A role reversal, the adult being led by the child. Wee, gaining confidence with each passing hour, his voice rising from a meek "Yes Ma'am" to the self assured kid that I know him to be. As I watched, they formed a friendship of their own, these two very different people.
I was allowed a glimpse of the man my son will grow up to be, and I was proud.
3 Comments:
That was a grea post it brought alittle tear to my eye!!!
The best thing for a young man to have is experience with elders...and I don't just mean parents in their 30's that bitch about how old they feel. I grew up around my mother's parents and learned many things neccessary to be considered more of a man rather than just some guy. I hope he continues to impress you.
And with the way you started the paragraph, I thought you were about to say your friend had passed. Don't do that to me.
That's so sweet! There's nothing better than realizing that your kid will be everything you hoped he'd be.
She sounds like exactly the kind of lady I want to be, enjoying every last drop of life.
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