Back in My Day

Do you remember hearing that?

My Grandpa could tell the best stories. He would mesmerize
us grandkids when he would start in.

He would tell tales so vivid, you were there.
I know he recorded some of them on cassette tape,
but I have not heard them since I was about 20.
I hope they did not fade away. Dad still has them,
I asked him recently.

Grandpa would squat like an Indian crouching
looking at tracks in the dirt. He would sit there
like that for what seemed like hours telling tales.

We never got bored or wanted to leave. I am sure
now as I remember this, that it was only a few minutes,
but when you are a little kid, it enthralls you so
and you become the person in the story. It was better
than TV. He used our imaginations as much as we did
because of that.

I hope as I write these ponderings, that more of the
actual stories themselves will come back to me. They
say that happens...I hope so.

I will have to ask Dad if I can listen to those
tapes again next time I visit with him. I know he
will let me, as I have already inherited some of the
tapes in his collection.

We used to go to my grandparents about once a week.
Mom was taking adult ed. classes and I suppose Dad
was at work. He usually worked a couple of jobs in
those days just to get enough to pay all the bills.

Grandpa would take us fishing. We would watch the
brook babble...they really do, you know....and listen
to the birds singing overhead, content to be alive.

He made us bait our own hooks and take the fish off the
line, said we needed to learn how to fend for ourselves.

I still remember that little dirt piddle they left when
you took them out of the container. Grandpa would
chuckle when he saw me being squimish about the worms.
I loved that about him...he paid attention to me.

On Sunday mornings, he would make the homemade syrup
while Grandma flipped the pancakes. It was always
a treat to stay there. They had indoor plumbing.
That bathroom was a fantastic treat for me. Our
house still had the Outhouse.

Whenever we would complain or turn up our noses
at anything at all, Grandpa or Grandma would
speak up and say...you should have seen things
"Back in MY Day".

Hugs till next time

Katie