My maternal grandmother
Nov 22, 2002 Family
Things my grandmother says that make me laugh:
“He’s busier than a seven-peckered sheep herder!”
(In response to a complaint) “Tough titty said the kitty but the milk’s still good.”
My mom’s mom is a tiny little woman, used to work at Boeing during the war. She’s our own little Rosie the Riveter but she’ll get pissed off if you say that ‘cuz she didn’t rivet. And you don’t want to get Betty pissed off so you may as well just skip it. She’s incredibly liberal, too, so it’s best that you don’t talk politics with her even if you agree; it just reminds her of how screwed up the country is right now and that, of course, pisses her off. She is also strongly pro-union.
Really, with Betty, it’s best to listen and keep your thoughts — even if you’re in agreement with her — to yourself. Besides it’s more fun that way because then she’ll talk more.
She lives in Portland and one holiday Brett and I were over there with her getting our annual tin of fudge (including peanut butter fudge made with — gulp — Velveeta cheese) and she asked me if I’d ever been in a fist fight. (The answer is no, by the way.) So she started telling us about the union and the strikes. She said one time after they had spent the day on the picket line they went to this bar across the street. The waitress said, as she served the drinks, “You ought to be grateful that you even have jobs!” So my grandma knocked her out and got thrown out of the bar.
“Wow, Betty,” said Brett. “Was that right after the war?”
“Hell no!” she exploded at him. “That was just a couple of years before I retired!”
You look up spit-fire in the dictionary and there she is, scowling at you.
My mom inherited her spirit but thank goodness the mean seems to dissipate in each successive generation. I’d say Erica (my sister) and I are downright nice but we’re not nearly as colorful.
By the way, Noah is out playing with Peanut in a smattering of snow right now.
November 22nd, 2002 at 6:47 pm
Hee hee hee. My mommy always said, “‘Tough titty,’ said the kitty, when the milk ran dry”.
November 23rd, 2002 at 12:57 am
That was funny…just exactly what I needed to read right now.