Corey, I love to listen to your essays. Now when I tap listen, it asks me to "get the app". I listen on my PC--I know, I'm old school. And I have no Apple stuff, the app is only available thru Apple, your site says. This limits anyone who likes to listen, and doesn't have Apple. Seems like a recently crowned as "Part Time Funny Man" comic will need all the audience he can get?
I miss my Grandma still.. she sounds a lot like yours. Our spot was Wendy's. i would drive up roughly an hour to see her.. and we'd go to the Wendy's behind her apartment. it was her favorite. When it was to hard for her to walk I'd go pick it up. She always got a small chili and Frosty.. I would leave with coupons she'd cut out or an article that made her think of me. She loved me unconditionally. She got the biggest hoot when she got to meet one of the boys I dated first.. man now I'm crying..
My dad was my son’s best friend. He wasn’t mine, but made up for his egregious failings as a dad as a grandpa. The two of them had their own language, games, jokes and world. My father will be gone 3 years next week and my son still can’t talk about him. I’ve been thinking about subscribing for a while and I finally did this am. Thanks for writing this.
I had that granny. She has been gone a while. My parents divorced when I was young, and I spent a lot of my childhood with the person I called Mee-Maw. Oh was she so proud of me and she loved to broadcast it.
We would watch game shows together. Do the TV Guide crossword together. And we had our favorite eatin spots. Arby's and Corn Dog 7 were go-tos. Also the Igloo (in Millers Creek, NC and they still make the best hot dogs in the country)
Every minor accomplishment I had was followed by Mee-Maw calling the entire family to tell them about it. "Darren got the Wheel!." "Darren know this Jeopardy question he is so smart." "Can you believe Darren at a whole Giant Roast Beef and then finished off my curly fries?? Where does he put it???"
I was living with Mee-Maw when I was about 18/19, a time when adults ort not be living with Mee-Maw anymore. One day I was perusing her Fingerhut catalog and came across this 1200 watt Pioneer stereo with a CD changer (CDs were new then). I promised Mee-Maw that I would make the 575 easy payments of $32.
When UPS (she pronounced it like it is spelled, the "ups truck") this monster, she got what I can only describe as the vapors. This WAS NOT what she signed up for. So she made some rules on when I could turn that up loud and when I could not. I abided by the rules, but when she was gone, I rattled the windows!!
Another great Mee-Maw story from the same time period. She hated alcohol. Hated it. Drinking was a mortal sin for her. But I was a spry 19 year old living with my granny while I worked at the factory. Well, I got a weekend off. Third shift. I got off work Friday morning at 7am and didn't have to go back to work until Sunday at 11pm.
I had a great weekend lined up. I was gonna get some beer, put it on ice in my trunk, take a nap, then go party at my cousin's house for the weekend. It was a fantastic plan. And it took some work. I had to have someone buy the beer, I had to ice it down, and I needed a nice nap.
So I wake up around 3pm feeling refreshed and ready for my big party. I tell Mee-Maw I'm spending the weekend at my cousin's house and will see her Sunday afternoon. She asks if I want some lunch and I say no, thank you but no. Love you bye.
As I walked out onto the carport, I see the cooler, that was in my trunk, empty, and turned upside down. My heart sank. I get to my cousin's house, open the trunk. Empty. Mee-Maw, while I was asleep, got my keys, removed the cooler from my trunk, and as I found out later, opened and poured out every beer.
But she never said a word. I didn't even find out what actually happened until my aunt told me after Mee-Maw died. When I got back home on Sunday, she never said a word. Asked if I had a good time over the weekend. I said yes. She said, well, run out to the Igloo and get us some hot dogs for dinner before you go to bed. I'll pay for them if you call it in and pick it up.
My last conversation with Mee-Maw was when she was literally on her death bed. Several family members were there. Many of which she couldn't remember their names. I walked over to her bedside, not knowing what to say or do, not knowing if she would remember me.
She immediately grabbed my hand, first gripping it tightly and then just rubbing it, and said, "Darren, stay sweet." I hope I have lived up to that.
Beautiful, Corey. I like to think you were calling Granny to tell her something about her great grand baby-to-be. She already knew, Corey, she already knew. And she already loves that little one as much as she loved you.
It took me a very long time to realize that my grandma was the special person in my life I always felt close to. She lived in a travel trailer parked in a small trailer park not far from where my parents had their business. Sometimes when I visited her she would play the harmonica and the ukulele and sing a song. It was amazing. She had a myna bird that could talk and a little silver hammer she used to crack ice to make iced tea. Though she died many years ago she’ll always be in my heart.
The best antidote for ageism is a warm, loving, funny grandparent. Because of my grandparents I had great respect for the old. And now at 71 with white hair, I am sometimes taken aback by people in stores who appear to look past me or ignore me. Luckily I picked up on my grandparents' wit and I am rarely without a great comeback as the situation warrants. One entitled crass soul (say it fast and it sounds like another term) who thought by parking his cart in a grocery line for five minutes without his presence meant he could cut the line when he came back , looked at me aghast when I refused his entry and asked, "Are you always like this?" "As much as possible ," I replied, thinking I could have asked him much the same thing.
My mema did the same for me. She was the blueprint of how I want to be for my grand babies. I’m 61 now and have 6 grand babies of my own. I know she would be proud of how fiercely I love them and what lengths I would go to to keep them safe. I think we might be different in the south. I’m telling you right now, if one of my grand babies grew up to kill somebody, I would assume they needed killing and send my grand to a non extraditing country. Because mema taught me, that’s my job.
I can remember trying to type in my four digit PIN number at the supermarket and getting no where... (with a line of impatient shoppers building up behind me) when I realized that the numbers I was using were the final four digits of the phone number of someone I loved -- and who had been dead for fifteen years.
Lost someone recently and found out in the worst way -- through the obituary page, nearly a month after he was gone. (He had told me he was having "stomach troubles" and wouldn't be calling for a while.) Thought I was being "ghosted' -- guess I was... ANYWAY, I have a fifteen second voice mail from him. I doubt if I'll ever erase it.
Thank you. So dear and two things; I remember when she died and can’t believe it was 6 years ago, and you are so right about kindness and what others may be dealing with.
For a few years after my grandmother died, I would call her number on the phone. It would just ring and ring of course. But, somehow it made me feel closer to her. I stopped doing that as I figured one day the phone company would recycle that number to a new customer and someone would answer when I called. But it wouldn't be Pixie or Louie (what I called my grandparents) and that would make me even more sad.
Corey, I love to listen to your essays. Now when I tap listen, it asks me to "get the app". I listen on my PC--I know, I'm old school. And I have no Apple stuff, the app is only available thru Apple, your site says. This limits anyone who likes to listen, and doesn't have Apple. Seems like a recently crowned as "Part Time Funny Man" comic will need all the audience he can get?
What beautiful words. Some people never leave us and that is perfectly ok!
I miss my Grandma still.. she sounds a lot like yours. Our spot was Wendy's. i would drive up roughly an hour to see her.. and we'd go to the Wendy's behind her apartment. it was her favorite. When it was to hard for her to walk I'd go pick it up. She always got a small chili and Frosty.. I would leave with coupons she'd cut out or an article that made her think of me. She loved me unconditionally. She got the biggest hoot when she got to meet one of the boys I dated first.. man now I'm crying..
My dad was my son’s best friend. He wasn’t mine, but made up for his egregious failings as a dad as a grandpa. The two of them had their own language, games, jokes and world. My father will be gone 3 years next week and my son still can’t talk about him. I’ve been thinking about subscribing for a while and I finally did this am. Thanks for writing this.
I had that granny. She has been gone a while. My parents divorced when I was young, and I spent a lot of my childhood with the person I called Mee-Maw. Oh was she so proud of me and she loved to broadcast it.
We would watch game shows together. Do the TV Guide crossword together. And we had our favorite eatin spots. Arby's and Corn Dog 7 were go-tos. Also the Igloo (in Millers Creek, NC and they still make the best hot dogs in the country)
Every minor accomplishment I had was followed by Mee-Maw calling the entire family to tell them about it. "Darren got the Wheel!." "Darren know this Jeopardy question he is so smart." "Can you believe Darren at a whole Giant Roast Beef and then finished off my curly fries?? Where does he put it???"
I was living with Mee-Maw when I was about 18/19, a time when adults ort not be living with Mee-Maw anymore. One day I was perusing her Fingerhut catalog and came across this 1200 watt Pioneer stereo with a CD changer (CDs were new then). I promised Mee-Maw that I would make the 575 easy payments of $32.
When UPS (she pronounced it like it is spelled, the "ups truck") this monster, she got what I can only describe as the vapors. This WAS NOT what she signed up for. So she made some rules on when I could turn that up loud and when I could not. I abided by the rules, but when she was gone, I rattled the windows!!
Another great Mee-Maw story from the same time period. She hated alcohol. Hated it. Drinking was a mortal sin for her. But I was a spry 19 year old living with my granny while I worked at the factory. Well, I got a weekend off. Third shift. I got off work Friday morning at 7am and didn't have to go back to work until Sunday at 11pm.
I had a great weekend lined up. I was gonna get some beer, put it on ice in my trunk, take a nap, then go party at my cousin's house for the weekend. It was a fantastic plan. And it took some work. I had to have someone buy the beer, I had to ice it down, and I needed a nice nap.
So I wake up around 3pm feeling refreshed and ready for my big party. I tell Mee-Maw I'm spending the weekend at my cousin's house and will see her Sunday afternoon. She asks if I want some lunch and I say no, thank you but no. Love you bye.
As I walked out onto the carport, I see the cooler, that was in my trunk, empty, and turned upside down. My heart sank. I get to my cousin's house, open the trunk. Empty. Mee-Maw, while I was asleep, got my keys, removed the cooler from my trunk, and as I found out later, opened and poured out every beer.
But she never said a word. I didn't even find out what actually happened until my aunt told me after Mee-Maw died. When I got back home on Sunday, she never said a word. Asked if I had a good time over the weekend. I said yes. She said, well, run out to the Igloo and get us some hot dogs for dinner before you go to bed. I'll pay for them if you call it in and pick it up.
My last conversation with Mee-Maw was when she was literally on her death bed. Several family members were there. Many of which she couldn't remember their names. I walked over to her bedside, not knowing what to say or do, not knowing if she would remember me.
She immediately grabbed my hand, first gripping it tightly and then just rubbing it, and said, "Darren, stay sweet." I hope I have lived up to that.
Beautiful, Corey. I like to think you were calling Granny to tell her something about her great grand baby-to-be. She already knew, Corey, she already knew. And she already loves that little one as much as she loved you.
Beautiful. There's no love like that of a grandparent. Been over 20 years, but I still miss mine pretty often.
Well congratulations, Corey, now I'M crying. That is a beautiful essay that I know your Granny would love like crazy. Thank you for sharing it.
It took me a very long time to realize that my grandma was the special person in my life I always felt close to. She lived in a travel trailer parked in a small trailer park not far from where my parents had their business. Sometimes when I visited her she would play the harmonica and the ukulele and sing a song. It was amazing. She had a myna bird that could talk and a little silver hammer she used to crack ice to make iced tea. Though she died many years ago she’ll always be in my heart.
oh, ps:
I wish I had someone like Granny Bain in my life, and I mean right now.
The best antidote for ageism is a warm, loving, funny grandparent. Because of my grandparents I had great respect for the old. And now at 71 with white hair, I am sometimes taken aback by people in stores who appear to look past me or ignore me. Luckily I picked up on my grandparents' wit and I am rarely without a great comeback as the situation warrants. One entitled crass soul (say it fast and it sounds like another term) who thought by parking his cart in a grocery line for five minutes without his presence meant he could cut the line when he came back , looked at me aghast when I refused his entry and asked, "Are you always like this?" "As much as possible ," I replied, thinking I could have asked him much the same thing.
My mema did the same for me. She was the blueprint of how I want to be for my grand babies. I’m 61 now and have 6 grand babies of my own. I know she would be proud of how fiercely I love them and what lengths I would go to to keep them safe. I think we might be different in the south. I’m telling you right now, if one of my grand babies grew up to kill somebody, I would assume they needed killing and send my grand to a non extraditing country. Because mema taught me, that’s my job.
Thank you for the memories your words brought back to me! ☮️🙏😊❤️
Amen.
I can remember trying to type in my four digit PIN number at the supermarket and getting no where... (with a line of impatient shoppers building up behind me) when I realized that the numbers I was using were the final four digits of the phone number of someone I loved -- and who had been dead for fifteen years.
Lost someone recently and found out in the worst way -- through the obituary page, nearly a month after he was gone. (He had told me he was having "stomach troubles" and wouldn't be calling for a while.) Thought I was being "ghosted' -- guess I was... ANYWAY, I have a fifteen second voice mail from him. I doubt if I'll ever erase it.
Thank you. So dear and two things; I remember when she died and can’t believe it was 6 years ago, and you are so right about kindness and what others may be dealing with.
For a few years after my grandmother died, I would call her number on the phone. It would just ring and ring of course. But, somehow it made me feel closer to her. I stopped doing that as I figured one day the phone company would recycle that number to a new customer and someone would answer when I called. But it wouldn't be Pixie or Louie (what I called my grandparents) and that would make me even more sad.