The wise??

Question

Well my grandmother who is 66, turning 67 in november tells me all these wonderful and not so wonderful stories about the "old days", And i think its great to pass on stories from generation to generation because i'll be in your place one day, i was wondering does anyone have any stories to tell? they dont have to be long

I didnt mean this in a rude way eigther

thanks

Right off the bat idk what an A&W drive in , is :\

Answer 1

I am only 60, but 61 in November, that doesn't make us old, but everything is relative. No offense taken. I remember when I saw people 25 as being 'old' and 30 had one foot in the grave.

I was one of 8 kids, although the first died at 6 months and the rest, of course, followed.
Families, most of them anyway, were very close. Divorce was an oddity and most mothers/wives stayed home and worked harder than any of us who worked away from home.
My father went from the farm to bridge construction before I was born (I fall at number 6). I don't remember my sisters ever living with us. They were the oldest and by the time I was 5 the oldest was married and shortly after, my other sister stayed with her while in high school. That left me with brothers.
We moved several times a year. I made my first move at the ripe old age of one month. My brothers and I went to as many as 21 schools before we were graduated. My memory starts at age 5, the year I started school. First grade. At that time we had a trailer home so we could take 'home' with us as we moved. It was 8' wide and 20' long. There were a total of 7 of us living in that trailer and no one felt crowded. We were outside all day long so the evenings and bed time was the only time we were all inside at once. My bedroom was the living room couch -being the only girl. My brothers shared bunk beds.
We up-sized the trailer a few times as money provided. Still, my bedroom was the couch until I was in the 10th grade.

One of my favorite memories was the summer before the 4th grade. Mom could make anything and made all my clothes. I was the best dressed at every school I attended. But this time my brothers and friends, all boys - always!, were going to the public pool on opening day. It was a quick decision as we just found out it was opening. But, I didn't have a suit. The boys got away with shorts, but girls had to ware swim suits. Mom stopped them and told them to sit down and wait. She went to the closet and took out 3 wash clothes. She made me a suit out of them in, maybe, 10 minutes. It fit perfect and off we went.
One of my worse memories also happened that summer. Our trailers were parked near a dead end street where only Mexicans lived. They were very rough, so didn't play with them much, but became very close with one boy, of course. We learned that a skating rink was just down the railroad tracks so we decided to walk there. We all got the 25 cents each we needed to get skates and took off down the tracks. When we got there, our freind told us he would wait outside and walk home with us. We were puzzled and insisted that he skate with us. He was last in line to get skates. I was beside him when the man behind the counter told him to leave. He was not going to give him skates. Emelio -that was his name- turned and said he would wait for us. Half of us were already skating. I got to my brothers and told them what happened. We took our skates off immediately and left. I will never forget the sinking feeling I had when Emelio was told to leave. "No Mexicans allowed".
It was later when I realized why the man did not want Mexicans. They really were rough and destructive and knife fights were common. Still, Emelio was nothing like that. I guess that is why he was so close to us and us with him. Most of the kids on his street were not the people he wanted to be around.

Like most people, I have a million stories. I just have you one good one and one sad one. Hope you enjoyed.

Answer 2

This is just the right forum for this type of question. Here's my little memory. My family had a store when I was a child. they had a sign out the front "hot dogs 5 cents, hamburgs (!)10 cents, pop 7 cents, ice-cream cones 5cents 1 scoop, 10 cents 2 scoops. Saturday morning movies were 10 cents. You could do a lot with an allowance of 50 cents a week.
Just a comment about Solomon Grundys' links, they were the story of my life growing up.I suggest others give them a look . I remember listening to a lot of those shows on the radio before we had TV. you can also use it as a crash course for answering some of Tealc666s "remember when?" questions. Thanks SG!

Answer 3

LOL! First, an A & W drive in - A & W Rootbeer, the company used to have drive-in restaurants. The attendant would come to your car to order and bring the food to you. There are very few of them around these days, and I'm not sure they bring the food to you any more.

May I suggest something many of us thought about when we were younger, but for some reason never did? Tape record your grandmother's stories. Don't let them be lost. One day you'll be able to put together a little book of those stories to "gift" to family members. It's a treasure not to be forgotten.

Answer 4

My dad is older than your grandmother! Here's a story that he recently told me ...... There was a story in the news a few months ago about a car that had been buried in a vault in Tulsa, OK., and had been raised out of it's tomb. I think it was a 1957 Bonneville (not sure though). My dad said that he had purchased the same make and model brand new in 1957. It was his first brand new car! I don't recall the purchase price, but I do remember that he said he had to sell it soon after purchase because he could not make the $60.00 monthly payments.

Answer 5

Everyone has a story, stories, or a book of memories. Some are personal, some are just fascinating concerning private and not-so-private history. I used to sit for hours listening to my grandma tell me of her life, her joys, her pains, what happened along the way, her marriage, her love, how she felt when ......... I will never forget those hours and what I learned of people, times, and events. There is no history book that could have hit home like those stories. My mom would sit with me and tell me of past loves, how she met my Dad, what happened as we grew up (stuff that I had no idea about at the time), how, at times she knew she had made a mistake about this, that, and how things turned out for the best afterall. Fascinating. We learn so much about human nature in this manner. We find we are not alone in our feelings, our experiences. AND guess what, the same people who tell stories LISTEN to stories, have wonderful insight, and can really help when advice is needed. Older folks don't tend to judge when you do not follow their advice.
Tell you what.... IF you ever want to volunteer for anything, go to a home for the elderly, pick one or two clearer headed people who have few or no one to visit them, and spend some time with them....ask, listen, and learn. The movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes" is based on this kind of action, and the movie is NOT a lie...it can happen to all of us, brightens the days of those who see no one, ...yes, the forgotten in life. Love and peace, Goldwing

Answer 6

My Mother, who lived to be 96 and died 4 years ago, told many wonderful stories. But one of my favorite is how they never got out of school for a snow day. She lived on a farm in Wisconsin and winters could be brutual. As much as she and her brothers would have liked to stay home from the one-room schoolhouse, it never happened. When the kids were unable to walk the distance because the snow was piled so high, a farmer at the far end of the route would team up his horses and sleigh and pick all the kids up and take them to school. Sounds like fun to me!

Answer 7

I have those stories, all of us do. I think it's great you listen to your grandma. You and she should record them for future generations.

A couple short stories of mine, I was sharing with my daughter last week. When I was in grade school we were by a Dairy Bar & I walked up there everyday at lunch and got a chili dog & coke for 35 cents. Also, my 1st job at 16 yrs old was at the drive-in movies making cotton candy, rocket pops (ice cream), hot dogs, popcorn, etc. & waiting on customers. I made $3.00 for an 8 hr shift.

Answer 8

The Chinese have a saying that translates into "When a family has an elder, they have a treasure." And one of the reasons I believe in this saying is what you said - they pass on stories and experiences which don't make sense one day and then is the advice of your life the next. I'm always grateful for my grandmother telling me about her life during the WWII, during the Mao reign and how she escaped to Hong Kong with my dad. It makes me glad for the easy life I have now.

Answer 9

My grandma's 83, and she told this story about when she was a baby, she was the 7th kid in her family and they were considered poor. Well, this lady at their church donated some children's dresses to them but cut the buttons off first!!! So to show that lady the error of her ways her mom had the kids wear those dresses to church the next Sunday. I'll bet that lady never went back!! Ha!!!

Answer 10

Being a grandfather who went from outhouses, kerosene lamps, ice boxes with ice and water from the pump to a man on the moon and high speed internet, I have plenty to tell—but the stories from your family are the most important..