Grand Rapids....come for the churches, stay for the Nascar and Deer Hunting.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
On Common Ground
I love tall Brazilians and their spicy kisses. I like to lean in close....close enough to see the slight trace of oil on their skin and breathe in their scent. I like to feel their warmth. I love short Mexicans (and tall ones too). They smell different than the brazilians. They've got this mmmmmm about them that is irresistible. They make me take deep breaths and smile. Italians don't quite do it for me. I always find them to be too assertive and for some reason that just pisses me off. Especially in the morning, when I am most lazy. French? Where to begin....they always seem eager to please. I guess I'm just not that picky when it comes to their nationalities. One thing is for certain though. No matter which one I put my lips on, they'll always have one cream, and one sugar. God I love my coffee.
Both of my grandfathers died when I was around 19.
They lived way way south of me so I didn't see them except on special vacations and holidays. These visits were always, in my recollection, very warm and full of adventure because I was young and in a faraway city.
"Papa," my grandfather on my dad's side, gave me my first pocket knife, and took me out (much to my mother's chagrin) to shoot a shotgun. Things that he thought marked the passing of years for a young boy. We would visit and outta the blue he would look at my dad and say "don't you think it's about time this boy learned how to shoot a shotgun?" Now, whether learning to shoot a gun is a neccessity for passage into manhood is a point that I'm sure is hotly debated for many reasons, but I can tell you this...it was friggin awesome. And Papa knew it would be. I could tell by the look in his eyes.
Papa was not a highly educated man given that his matriculation ceased sometime during elementary school to paint oil rigs. This was during the depression. Conversation with Papa was never extended or profound but he always had these sayings that I had never heard before that would always make me laugh.
For some reason, a few of those sayings popped into my head this morning on my drive into work and I though I would share them with you. I still like to use some of them today.
When Papa was talking to us on the phone and my grandmother was anxiously awaiting her turn to talk he would say:
"Well, I guess I'll put your grandma on the phone now...she's running around here like a snake hit on it's head with a stick."
and when referring to his "leaner" days he would say:
"We were poor but we always had three meals a day...oatmeal, cornmeal, and miss-a-meal"
but my most favorite came when he said, as a few people were trying to pick up the entire tab for a dinner :
"Now, ain't none of us can afford that whole bill so let's just let each dog trod under it's own wagon"
trod under it's own wagon....how freakin priceless is that? (for the record, I wasn't there but the story lived on).
Name: Jonathan Home: Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States About Me: Just a guy who trying to eek out a living as a graphic designer in SW Michigan. See my complete profile
Name: Jonathan
