Things I Remember

 

my grandmother and brother Mark
1953

". . . you share the faith that first filled your grandmother . . . and your mother . . . And I know that same faith continues strong in you." (2 Timothy 1:5)

Today is Elsie Gertrude Thomas Brazelle, my maternal grandmother's, 125th birthday.

Grandmother was a prime and proper little lady that called Granddaddy Mr. Brazelle all their married life. Going to her house in Florence was as exciting to me as Christmas. We would stop at Hardee's in Huntsville for a junior husky, fries, and a chocolate milk shake. 

Mama warned me never to speak to Grandmother of a woman expecting a baby, which she would considered improper. One time I slipped, telling her that my cat was expecting kittens. I quickly tried to fix things and spewed, "But she's already had 'em."

After Granddaddy died, when my family visited, I shared a bed with Grandmother. One night she told jokes before we fell asleep (highly out of character for her). 

Joke: "There once was a woman whose husband hung himself in their spacious attic. Later, a neighbor came to extend her condolences. Fumbling for words, the neighbor sputtered, "We sure have had a lot of rain this spring, but you have such a nice big attic — the perfect place to hang things." 

We giggled until Mama called from the next room, "It's time to go to sleep you two." She fell asleep first. Grandmother didn't snore. She puffed. In my head, I can still hear her.

One summer, while Mark and I were spending a week with her, I told an "off-color" joke. She threatened to take me to the Catholic priest to confess my sins. We were at her house when NASA landed the first man on the moon.

She drank Pepsi cola everyday. She never learned to swim. She fed the sparrows and shooed the starlings. She made the best toast in the world in a gas oven. After we washed dishes, she said, "We'll let the angels dry them."

A letter she wrote on the night before her 55th birthday to Mother became my first children's book: The Schoolhouse.

Happy birthday, Grandmother. Thanks for the memories!