Yesterday morning, I had the privilege of picking my grandma up from the airport at 7AM. Though it was early, the trek was worth it. Quality time with grandma is a rare and precious gem.
Since grandma got up at 1:15AM, and I got up at 5:45, neither of us had eaten breakfast. We did the only logical thing to do in our situation – eat breakfast at Savoury Pancake House in Bartlett.
Look at that crazy french toast!
As we perused the menu, grandma made a bold move. She informed me that she hadn’t had French toast or pancakes in 20 years, and quickly decided to order strawberry French toast. I went a more normal route and ordered a ham and cheese omelet.
While we waited for our food, then ate, we had some delightful conversations. I learned that grandma doesn’t like turnips, she grew up on a staple diet of meat and potatoes, and when she was growing up, her house was the only one in the area that didn’t have a party line telephone.
It is so hard for me to fathom the concept of having a party line phone. Apparently, the phone would ring different numbers of times for different households. Even if the phone call wasn’t for your house, you would hear the phone ring, with your neighbor’s number of rings. If you wanted to, it was completely possible to tune into all of the conversations that were happening on the phone. Crazy. As grandma put it, “The party lines weren’t any iPhones!”
Food for thought: what can you learn about someone today?
