Guest blogger here today: Grandson Bryce to give Gramma some rest time to put her feet up with popcorn & Jolly Ranchers and to binge some TV.
Outside Gramma’s front door is the great wild unknown. The house exists. Also floating in existence are Safeway, Costco, the doctors, and Jimmy John’s. To Gramma, the land in between is no man’s land.
While chauffeuring Gramma around the unknown terrain outside Kartar Ridge Ranch, we have interesting conversations. And I give pop geography quizzes as we drive to errands and appointments. She is about 50 percent for geography, so far. For example: “Gramma, on this road, are we going to turn right or left to go up the driveway to the house? “Right?” ”Oh, you were close, it’s left”. East could be West and Auburn may as well be Alaska or Renton or Buckley or China or Enumclaw. Apparently, Gramma is spatially impaired: her sense of direction seems to be focused on up, down, left and right. But she is slightly improving with time.
On one drive though, the conversation went something like this:
Grandson: “Gramma, what was your favorite movie when you were growing up?”
Gramma: “Oh, so you know, I loved piano. There was a movie about the composer Frederic Chopin that was made when I was about 14 years old. Aunt Joan worked at the Palace Movie Theater as the ticket cashier and she would let me in for free and I went and saw it about 5 times. Saved me the ticket fee – 35 cents – each time.”
Grandson: “That sounds cool. Do you remember the name of the movie?”
Gramma: “Oh no. I’m sure I could never find it.”
Grandson: “I think it’s possible to find.”
Gramma: “No, no it’s not. I’m sure it’s lost to time.”
Grandson: “What decade was it made?”
Gramma: “I think it would have been the 1940s.”
… and the conversation moved on…
That night I gathered all the data I had and I did some in-depth, tough, painstaking detective sleuthing. In Google I typed: 1940’s movie about Chopin.
Google results pulled the following movie description right up, I didn’t even have to click:
I asked some of the family locals at the ranch if they wanted to watch as a surprise. A handful of us got together on a Tuesday night, Susy made some great popcorn, and Gramma asked multiple times what we were going to watch. I had everyone close their eyes and started the movie. Gramma instantly remembered “A Song to Remember” even though not having not seen it since her teenage years. Back in those days, she said, once it was out of the theater, it was gone. No more access to the movie.
She remembered it well. She knew what was going to happen next and all the characters involved. Multiple times within the starting ten minutes she said, “Oh no, I’m sure it’s so old, you won’t like it.” Susy said, “Please, let us watch it. We want to see what you liked as a kid.” And we thoroughly enjoyed it. Better than many movies made today that we have been watching. With beautiful music and Gramma telling stories alongside from youth and her piano playing days. A great biographical story that touched on art, beauty, nature, animals and travel.
Fun to see Gramma’s favorite movie as a kid. She had good taste. I guess she always has.
Anyways, we recommend it!
Maybe she will get better at remembering the geography, too. We can always hope. . . .
I loved your story guest blogger! It was coincidental to a conversation I had just last night. I took popcorn mix to our monthly Game Night and when I took a bite of the chocolate Life cereal it contained, I returned to my youth. Your grandpa, my Uncle Gene, took me, my brother Tim and your uncles Matt and Mark, and your aunt Lisa (maybe Susy & Gretchen, too) on a tour of Quaker Oats when the Fords came to visit us in Cedar Rapids. As a parting gift Quaker gave us each a mini box of cereal. Mine was Life, maybe we all got that, anyway we took our little boxes and enjoyed them as movie treats at the downtown theater. I think we saw Flipper! As I reminisced to my friends a wave of love washed over me for my sweet Ford relatives and the memories we made together. Funny that it’s Life cereal that always triggers memories of that day so long ago. I’m glad not everything is lost in time. That was a special thing you did helping your grandma revisit one of her favorite memories!
So much fun! I enjoyed the movie very much. Chopin was a passionate musician and his music has lived on throughout the years.
I especially enjoyed the company and sharing stories after the movie was over!
Welp, my lack of direction now has a source. Cheers Aunt Patty!
Thanks for solving that mystery, Bryce.
What a relief. My spatial challenges are because of my ‘mother wit’ (that’s a little Shakespeare for the young ‘uns). When my family starts talking about “then you turn west when you see the cedar tree, then take a right at the gas station…” my mind wanders to more interesting things. I know it when I see it, but I guess that’s part of the fun.
Bryce, I love how you filed that info away and then surprised Gramma with it! What a special idea. When I was little, Gramma still drove sometimes, and I have a fun memory of being lost on Lake City Way with her behind the wheel. Before we left the house, Grandpa clearly stated the directions to Fred Meyer (where Gramma was taking little Gretchen and me for Barbies, naturally). Gramma repeated the directions back at him, we sailed away in the car, and she promptly forgot some key instructions. It was very exciting for Gretchen and me! Somehow, we eventually made it back to civilization, and I realized that grown-ups can get lost, too. The fun thing was that she didn’t get upset (or at least didn’t show it), so we had a merry old time and it felt like a wild adventure, not a scary one.
I love this! Thank you, Bryce, for giving Gramma a break but also for providing new stories! Reading it gave me a flashback to the days the cousins would hang out at Grammas for movies and lots of candy eating. Oooh the good old days. I think I had my first jolly ranchers at Grammas and I LOVED them. I would look for them in their usual spot in the cub board whenever I visited… My dentist dad did not approve. Perhaps that was part of the appeal. Coincidentally, I bought the biggest bag of jolly ranchers the other day and put it on my bedroom dresser. It was a terrible idea, I’ve since moved them out of sight. 🙂
Nice job as ‘guest blogger’ Bryce . I had 2 very different memories develop after reading your blog.
Your observation about Gwenie’s driving /directional style explains how she flew to Cedar Rapids many years ago but got off the plane in Moline Ill.
A memory of her sister Joan’s 1 huge movie passion jolted into my mind. I didn’t meet Joan until Chris and I started dating in high school. I thought everyone said Joan did not go to movies very often. But then ‘WHATS UP DOC’ with Barbra Streisand came to the theaters. Joan thought it was the funniest movie EVER !. It seemed like over the next 3,4 months she talked ,pulled ,cajoled everyone into seeing it. Although the movie is hilarious ,there was added humor because Joan would laugh insanely loud most of the movie.
Good Times, Good Times
Bryce, you have a knack for bringing stories forth. You are curious and interested in people and the world! Thank you for this brilliant and funny blog about Gramma! I love how Mom’s memories flowed as you played the old movie! Keep blogging occasionally to keep us posted on the fun things happening at Katar Ridge Ranch! (And to give Gramma a break! Wasn’t it you, Bryce, who arm twisted Grama to keep blogging? If so, you owe her a few more breaks!)
Took me a minute to realize that I was reading the perspective of the guest blogger. What a thoughtful grandson. I’m going to look up that movie too. So glad I read this this morning. And Pat is a piano player too?