It was always a treat to visit our grandparents’ house. We liked to eat my grandmother’s cooking – most of the time – but the real treasure was spending time with my granddad. We kids would sidle up as close to him as we could get. One advantage to being little was finding a seat in his lap. That guaranteed dunks in his coffee.
He was “gassed” in World War I with mustard gas. Because of that, he used the excuse that he needed to stay outdoors as much as possible. He had no problem finding things to do outdoors. When the weather didn’t cooperate, he still needed a place of escape.
His barn was the perfect place of refuge. He had it rigged. With one flip of a switch, the light came on as well as the fan and the radio. A cot was the perfect place for a nap! They had a little house that was rented out at times. When the little house was void of renters, that became his one switch refuge – with a tv thrown in. Baseball season was a good time to go to his special place. He watched one baseball game on tv with the sound turned down and listened to another on the radio.
No matter what we did with my Granddad, whether being pulled in a wagon by his tractor, watching a ballgame, dunking in his coffee, listening to one of his tales, or just sitting quietly, it was a good day!
