When Grandma wasn't being a "Practical Nurse" she lived in a very nice home on the east side of Detroit. Aunt Lee and Uncle Gil bought the house around 1950. Aunt Lee is still there, today. Grandma had the bedroom with the scary closet I wrote about yesterday. When I was very young I would often sleep in that room with her. I can't tell you what was worse, the closet or Grandma with intestinal gas. Maybe her farting was a good thing, maybe that kept the attic monsters away?
As a young boy I was often recruited for "Grandma Duty." She didn't see, read or write very well. I hated threading her sewing needles. I wasn't very good and would often stick myself. I did enjoy taking dictation and writing her letters, verbatim. "Thanks goodness the childrens are fine." and that's what I wrote. I was also responsible for addressing post cards to "Treasure Hunt" a rigged game show she never won.
Grandma wore very think glasses but not a hearing aid. Trying to read she would push the glasses up on her forehead and hold the paper a quarter inch in front of her eyes. When she still couldn't see she would hand it to me. My lifelong friend Mark left a message the other day about her "Don't Hol-la." Talking, was so frustrating, eventually I would raise my voice. "Don't Hol-la." her way of saying, "don't holler at me." My mother would often ask her to "watch" me. I was a very unruly young teenager, Grandma didn't have a chance.
Grandma would do the glasses on the forehead thing when trying to see her wristwatch. One birthday I bought her a pin-on or pocket watch. It had a large dial with very big numbers. She loved the watch and could easily see the time. I said, "I'm glad you like the watch, I was concerned that it was a little too loud." She said, "What?" I raised my voice, "I was afraid you would think it ticked too loud." This time she said, "What?" "Never mind you can't hear it anyway." I yelled. She had the watch the rest of her life. Not able to wind it she always knew when it was ten fifteen.
My opinion, the strongest women in the family was, and is, Aunt Lee. She was always generous and very nice, but still, I was a little afraid of her. I'm sure it was the way she interacted with my cousins, Adele and Chuck. She had rules to follow, something I didn't have at home. At dinner we had to finish, sit quietly if a grown up was talking then ask to be excused. We also had to play outside and be especially quiet if Uncle Gil was home. When he let loose with a, "Boy's boy's, settle down," it would be best to move, far away.
My cousin and I used to take pillows, pile them at the bottom of the stairs and jump into them from the landing. It was really a stupid, and dangerous thing to do. Often we would play ball in the back yard. The day I broke one of the windows was horrible. I tried to blame it on my girl cousin but that didn't work. We also would also play "hockey" in the living room, the fireplace the goal. Looking back on that now I give my aunt and uncle a lot of credit for putting up with us.
Uncle Gil was a Veterinarian and Aunt Lee owned and operated a pet shop in Gross Point Michigan. My uncle was involved in many things, one of them was hunting. I guess he could wound and care for an animal the same day. He taught me to shoot skeet which aren't bad grilled with caramelized onions and mushrooms. Over the years he played golf, did woodwork, made things, not cleaned it. Photography was also one of his hobbies.
Aunt Lee worked until she was ninety or ninety one. I have a vague memory of a monkey when she first moved in the shop. Either that or a very ugly baby Grandma was taking care of. I attribute my lifelong appreciation and love of animals to Aunt Lee, my dislike of babies to Grandma. Aunt Lee and Uncle Gil offered all their nieces and nephews musical instruments and lessons. We only had to show the interest and study on our own for a year. To this day my cousin Neil (Belles son) plays the clarinet. I tried guitar and tuba. I had no apptitude for the guitar, the tuba kept tipping me over.
The youngest sister was Belle. She met and married Morrie during the "big one" WW2. They moved to Cincinnati, Ohio shortly after his discharge. I thought their family was the most stable because they lived away from all of us. They had many things to be proud of in spite of a liking for Skyline Chili. Uncle Morrie worked in a downtown Cincinnati Pawn Shop his entire life. He had superior knowledge of jewelery and a compassionate understanding way with customers. I wonder what he would think about the several "Pawn Stars" clones on television?
As you can probably tell, I have great memories of the family. I think they were, in their own way, kind and loving. The men had problems showing affection and maybe some satisfaction issues. But, all things considered I wouldn't have traded one of them.
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