My dad called me in response to my Steve Martin quote about the beautiful people. He reminded me of a story that my mother used to tell, which was one of her favorites and I've decided to give a retelling of it here.A little background first...my Grandpa Parker had had a stroke and, although he could still communicate, his reflexes were usually a little slow. My dad describes it by saying that when he'd drive him home, he'd ask Grandpa a question and it would take Grandpa a mile or two down the road before he'd answer.
Well, on this particular occasion, the family was together for one reason or another and Uncle Mike was...in my dad's words..."smarting off" about how whatever they were talking about was something that 'the beautiful people' do. Grandpa piped right up and said, "How in the hell would you know?"
It was at the time, and remained, a favorite story of my mom's to use to tease Uncle Mike.
3 comments:
Ha! I can understand why that was one of your mom's favorite stories...it's a good one!! And I love that phrase, 'smarting off'... don't hear it much anymore, but lots of people and kids still do it!! I also remember growing up that one of the worst things you could say about someone was that they liked to 'show off'... that was a huge no-no in the 50's! :P
your uncle mike tells that story, too. he laughs....he loved his dads sense of humor despite his situation...thanx for the memory.
I cannot even begin to imagine Mike "smarting off" - realize now that I lived with him during my teenage years:=)
Post a Comment