My parents were planning on picking up my young son from his school. They asked "How do we get to Drew's school?"
Drew very matter of factly decided to give them no-fail directions to his school.
"All you have to do," he started, "is go down this road. When you see the cows and the school buses you are there."
With those directions how could anyone get lost? He gave clear driving directions from the mouth of an elementary school student.
You gotta love them all!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Never Leave Home
My mom and dad were almost always together. I had not recalled my parents every taking separate trips. But this one time, my mom did go visit a friend in DC without my dad.
Mom left my dad to care for all of us; four kids.
I loved the outdoors. One day I went outside to feed the squirrels. We had named two of squirrels that seem to come around frequently - Rice Krispies and Peanuts. They both would come up to us. Rice Krispies was very mild and would gently eat the rice krispies off of our palms. Peanuts was a bit more aggressive so we would need to toss the food for him.
On this particular day, I got confused and thought Peanuts was Rice Krispies. I was so wrong and Peanuts bit one of my fingers. It hurt and I ran into the house screaming.
My dad called for everyone to gather around because we were going to the doctor. My older brother jumped from the top of the split level towards the living room. He was in his socks and he got a huge splinter stuck in his foot. Now my dad had two kids to take to the doctor for medical attention.
Everyone got ready and headed towards the car. My dad got in. My older brother and I got in the car but.......while my younger brother was getting in the car his fingers got smashed in the car door. Yipes! Now there were three of us needing to see the doctor.
When we got to the doctor's office, my father explained what happened to each of us. The nurse replied "Your wife must be out of town." How did she know.
After that, it was more than 25 years before my mom left town without my dad.
So, this was not just another squirrelly story.
Mom left my dad to care for all of us; four kids.
I loved the outdoors. One day I went outside to feed the squirrels. We had named two of squirrels that seem to come around frequently - Rice Krispies and Peanuts. They both would come up to us. Rice Krispies was very mild and would gently eat the rice krispies off of our palms. Peanuts was a bit more aggressive so we would need to toss the food for him.
On this particular day, I got confused and thought Peanuts was Rice Krispies. I was so wrong and Peanuts bit one of my fingers. It hurt and I ran into the house screaming.
My dad called for everyone to gather around because we were going to the doctor. My older brother jumped from the top of the split level towards the living room. He was in his socks and he got a huge splinter stuck in his foot. Now my dad had two kids to take to the doctor for medical attention.
Everyone got ready and headed towards the car. My dad got in. My older brother and I got in the car but.......while my younger brother was getting in the car his fingers got smashed in the car door. Yipes! Now there were three of us needing to see the doctor.
When we got to the doctor's office, my father explained what happened to each of us. The nurse replied "Your wife must be out of town." How did she know.
After that, it was more than 25 years before my mom left town without my dad.
So, this was not just another squirrelly story.
Black Squirrel
My mother was an English major. All my life I can remember both of my parents corrected my grammar. I am by no means perfect but because of them I am generally more aware of words and whether or not they are spoken correctly.
While they were watching the news, they often would correct the newsperson. For example, if someone said "It was just him and ME at the movies." They would say it should have been "It was just him and I at the movies." If you remove part of the sentence that refers to "him" then you would say "It was just I at the movies." "I was at the movies." If the comment was "he was riding his bike very slow." They would both at "ly" at the end of slow. Thus, the correct sentence would be "he was riding his bike very slowly."
Every now and then my mother would inadvertently slip and say something in correctly (note: the ly is at the end of correct - ha ha!). My dad would correct my mom. I would not say that it made her mad but it was a bit frustrating.
One day, revenge......no, getting even was sweet for my mom. My dad was telling a story about a black squirrel he had seen. He said "I saw a black squirrel driving down the road." Think about it......do you get it? A squirrel cannot drive. What he should have said was "While I was driving down the road I saw a black squirrel."
Mom was so happy. She had finally gotten my dad back. Ha ha, the laugh was on him.
So the next time you see a black squirrel driving down the road think about my parents.
While they were watching the news, they often would correct the newsperson. For example, if someone said "It was just him and ME at the movies." They would say it should have been "It was just him and I at the movies." If you remove part of the sentence that refers to "him" then you would say "It was just I at the movies." "I was at the movies." If the comment was "he was riding his bike very slow." They would both at "ly" at the end of slow. Thus, the correct sentence would be "he was riding his bike very slowly."
Every now and then my mother would inadvertently slip and say something in correctly (note: the ly is at the end of correct - ha ha!). My dad would correct my mom. I would not say that it made her mad but it was a bit frustrating.
One day, revenge......no, getting even was sweet for my mom. My dad was telling a story about a black squirrel he had seen. He said "I saw a black squirrel driving down the road." Think about it......do you get it? A squirrel cannot drive. What he should have said was "While I was driving down the road I saw a black squirrel."
Mom was so happy. She had finally gotten my dad back. Ha ha, the laugh was on him.
So the next time you see a black squirrel driving down the road think about my parents.
Storytelling 101
Storytelling can either be good or it can be bad. It takes at least two: one to tell the story and one to listen to the story. There may be a third or more involved because there may be those who the story is about.
Anyway, a story is only as good as the teller and the listener. If you tell a story well then chances are the listener will enjoy or at least understand the story. If you are a good listener then chances are you will understand and hopefully enjoy the story.
Anyway, a story is only as good as the teller and the listener. If you tell a story well then chances are the listener will enjoy or at least understand the story. If you are a good listener then chances are you will understand and hopefully enjoy the story.
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