My Mothers Parents

I'd like nothing better than to say that I understood my parents but that's not the case.  My mother and my aunt were left behind when my grandfather and grandmother followed their only son to California.  I can only assume that it was either furniture or kids and they choose furniture.  Both of mothers parents settled across the street from their son and my grandfather never left California again. My grandmother did return once for just a few days.  Later that year we received a large wooden box from my grandmother which contained toys for each of us among other things.  I can only guess that it must have been an exceptional year because it never happened again.

In 1961, I drove Margret Hale's 1960 4 door Buick to California to see my grandparents and to take Nellie Stewart to see her sisters and cousins. When we finally reached Hamilton City, the first words out of my grandmother's mouth were about buying her a new dress.  They lived in an Air Stream Trailer permanently parked across the street from their son Wallace and his wife Betty.  Both of my grandparents were still on welfare and never thought a minute about changing anything.  The same model A Ford Pickup that brought them to California was parked in the driveway.  I bought the dress, filled the cabinets, slept with slugs, and left the next morning without ever looking back. The only words my grandfather ever spoke came after I came back from the grocery. He muttered something about more strawberries and cream, then went back to his TV. My wife never forgave me for not staying longer and for not understanding. Both of my mothers parents died without me ever seeing them again. I'd like to say that I regret not having seen them again but that wouldn't be true.