Other than talking about some of the toys I remember getting at Christmas; I would always get a card from my paternal grandmother (she'd send it as my grandfather was literally a skinflint...and not a very nice man) My dad and his brother were born between 1918-1920, so they experienced the Great Depression and unfortunately a father who drank too much. My dad was born in a tenement in Harlem in NYC. They never could afford a home of their own, and eventually lived in rental bungalows around a small Long Island town along the shore.
One Christmas my grandfather came home, and like a raving drunken lunatic he smashed all the windows in their little house, that my dad always said was called "Dashby Court."
There were never any rows in my home while growing up, as my dad was determined to have a peaceful home life, and we did. He made sure there would never be another 'Dashby Court' in his life.
Anyway, back to Grandma. Every Christmas me and my 2 brothers would each get a card from her containing a five dollar bill. They stopped coming when she passed away. My mom told me stories of my grandmother having to walk around town to pay bills as my grandfather wouldn't give her money for bus fare.
Thinking about now it after the fact, I'm sure my grandma saved her pennies throughout the year to make sure she could send the three of us our little gifts. She was a wonderful woman, who wore a charm bracelet with dingling charms in the shapes of all her eight grandchildren on it. You could hear her coming. She'd always say nest c pas, and tout suit, though I don't think she spoke French. She was a wonderful woman, who deserved better. I miss her still, though she died in the 60's.
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One Christmas my grandfather came home, and like a raving drunken lunatic he smashed all the windows in their little house, that my dad always said was called "Dashby Court."
There were never any rows in my home while growing up, as my dad was determined to have a peaceful home life, and we did. He made sure there would never be another 'Dashby Court' in his life.
Anyway, back to Grandma. Every Christmas me and my 2 brothers would each get a card from her containing a five dollar bill. They stopped coming when she passed away. My mom told me stories of my grandmother having to walk around town to pay bills as my grandfather wouldn't give her money for bus fare.
Thinking about now it after the fact, I'm sure my grandma saved her pennies throughout the year to make sure she could send the three of us our little gifts. She was a wonderful woman, who wore a charm bracelet with dingling charms in the shapes of all her eight grandchildren on it. You could hear her coming. She'd always say nest c pas, and tout suit, though I don't think she spoke French. She was a wonderful woman, who deserved better. I miss her still, though she died in the 60's.