This Thursday, my husband and I will gather with my family to celebrate the life of my Grandma, who passed just one month shy of her 100th birthday. As I anticipate this celebration, I remember all the stories my Grandma has shared with us over the years, but I wondered just how many changes she has experienced that we didn't realize. So I started googling history (by the way, Grandma is part of the Google revolution and she didn't even know it.)
The year Grandma was born, Boy Scouts of America was incorporated, President William Howard Taft became the first president to throw out the first baseball on opening day, The Earth passed through the tail of Comet Halley, and the first air freight shipment from Dayton, Ohio to Columbus, Ohio was undertaken by the Wright Brothers. That was all just in 1910.
In 1920, when Grandma was just 10 years old, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. Did she know what an impact women would have to this country over the next 90 years? Some other milestones over her 100 years include the invention of stainless steel, the first paved coast-to-coast U.S. highway opened, the first crossword puzzle was published (imagine how many of those Granny has worked), the first motion picture was released, Ford Motor Company introduced the first assembly line and moving assembly line, wages have gone from $5 a day to over $5 an hour. Granny lived through World War I, Prohibition, The Great Depression, The bombing of Pearl Harbor, World War II, The Holocaust, The atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, The Korean War, The Vietnam war, Bay of Pigs Invasion, Dessert Storm, the fall of the Twin Towers World Trade Center, and the war on terrorism. Think of all the political movements Granny has seen like Womens suffrage, Child Labor, and the Civil Rights movement, just to mention a few.
Grandma has experienced the evolution of automobiles and telecommunications, the modernization of the radio and television, and the growth of the printing press producing mass publications.
If you knew Grandma, you knew she loved to knit and play bridge. She was a card shark at the least, and very few could beat her at any card game. But there may be something you might not have known about Granny. She was an avid baseball fan, and she loved her Cincinnati Reds. She could tell you every player and how good or bad they were...who was trading who and who is playing who that week. Often times during the spring and summer, I would drive over for a visit with Granny and she would be sitting in front of the TV watching baseball. She would explain what was going on in the game and I would drift to sleep on the couch. Did you know when Grandma was 11 years old, the first World Series was broadcast on the Radio. Babe Ruth was the star player for the New York Yankee's. I wonder if this is what sparked Granny's passion for Baseball.
Between 1910 and 2010, Grandma has seen 17 President's elected to the United States of America, 1 assassination attempt and 1 assassination. 30 Olympic Games have come and gone during Grannys life. Mickey Mouse started his rise to fame in 1929, followed by Snow White, The Betty Boop comic, and the Lone Ranger radio show. The first drive-in theatre opened in 1933, I wonder how many times she went to the drive-in with Grandpa? During her early years, Granny probably heard all about the rein of Bonnie and Clyde, watched Gone with the Wind, Bugs Bunny, Rudolf the Red Nosed reindeer, and Pinnocio, all for the first time.
Imagine all the changes and evolution in modern medicine that Grandma has seen, many of which kept her alive for so long. When she was in her 80's, she had bypass heart surgery and her carotid arteries fixed. We often joked that she got her 80,000 mile checkup and she could go another 20,000 miles, and to that she would answer "The Joke is On YOU!"
We didn't really mind that the joke was on us. Granny was full of love, endless wit, and southern charm. But she also had a side that was rarely ever seen. I will never forget when I was in High School, Granny drove her car over to the house and I noticed a piece of trim was falling off. When I showed her, she dropped the F-BOMB and started cussing her blankety blank car. I lost it! I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee myself. I had heard a cuss word here and there come out of Granny's sweet southern mouth, but NEVER the F-BOMB! Or what about the time we were on vacation at the beach and we had just caught a crab. We were getting ready to boil it and it jumped loose, lunging at Granny's arm. She screamed so loud, spatter obscenities, turned over the trash can, and moved faster than I had ever seen her move. We all laughed until we cried.
Grandma was the type of person that you wanted to be around, and take care of. See we all know the secret to her longevity. Someone was always there to take care of Granny. It's not that Granny was helpless. We all know that is not the case. She had a way of working that southern charm to draw you in, hook, line and sinker. Her Mom, Ali Josephine (our youngest daughter's namesake), took care of her until she died, then Grandpa took care of her, and then my sweet parents took care of her until her last day on earth. Now she is heaven with her beloved husband and mother, whom I am sure, will take care of her for all eternity. So until we see each other again, Granny, keep working your charm, and watching your baseball, and maybe when we meet again you can introduce me to Babe Ruth, because I know you will have him wrapped in no time. You will always be in my heart, and you will always be on my mind, and I will miss you more than you will ever know. I will love you forever Granny, and will cherrish the memories I have, but for now I say good bye. May God bless you and keep you . . . until we meet again.
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