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An Edison student Narrative
The Good Old
Days
By Cierra Kaufhold
Why can’t the world be like it once was? A world without hate, without
“The walk away Joes,“ and ”Run around Sues”… A world where families
meant something, love was forever, opening the front door to a stranger
was okay, prices were low, people could be trusted, everyone was kind
and understanding, people would offer a helping hand, people weren’t
afraid to talk or leave their home. A life was simple, enjoyable and
worthwhile. My grandpa took me to a place in my mind, a time I wish I
knew better, a time I wish I grew old in.
A normal weekend, I sat at the edge of an old porch swing grandpa had
made. I sat between my great grandpa and great grandma with their dog
Jake. We all rocked back and forth in the summer breeze. I glanced over
at my grandpa and waited with anticipation for one of his great
stories. Grandma knew what I wanted to hear; she looked at grandpa and
said, “Roy, just tell the poor girl!” I smiled as the last word escaped
her breath and he began, taking me to my favorite place in my mind: his
memories.
“Two neighborhood kids and classmates, Norma and Lee. A fence, a one
room school house, age, siblings and parents were their only
segregation. It wasn’t acceptable to talk to the opposite sex, it was
frowned upon especially by parents. Lee walked Norma home from school
and they talked in the backyard when no one was watching, Norma’s pest
of a brother would threaten to tell, so Lee would give him a nickel a
day to not say a word. Lee and Norma seemed to fancy each other, even
as they grew older each and every day. Their parents both told them
separately to stay away from each other; they were too young!
Lee and Norma ran away from home together to marry at the ages of
fifteen and nineteen. Lee found odd jobs to survive and bounced from
home to home. Norma was pregnant at sixteen with her first child, my
grandma Linda. They cared for Linda the best they could, the best way
they knew how. Lee and Norma didn’t have much, but they always said
their love was all they needed.
At the time Linda turned three, Norma was pregnant again. Linda helped
with the children as they came along throughout the years. Moving from
Oklahoma to Ohio, they found a little house, not perfect but it was a
place they could call home. Eventually, all seven of their children and
the three runaways that they took in as their own had all left grandma
and grandpa’s home.
When grandpa started coughing I knew the story of their life was over.
I could smell the coffee brewing in the kitchen. Grandpa left to make a
cup. I followed behind him; I stole his chair before he could sit down.
He just smiled at grandma and said, “Did that pretty little lady steal
my seat?” I laughed. I knew he was blind for the most part, but he knew
things and I never could understand how. He wandered off to the living
room, grabbed his oxygen mask and slipped it over his ears. He sneaked
up behind grandma and used his oxygen cord as a lasso. He wrapped
grandma up and kissed her cheeks. She told him to cut it out and sit
down. Grandpa stayed behind her, moving as if he was her shadow. He’d
stop for a second and pull on her curls and turn around to me whistling
as if he was innocent. I just sat in my seat and laughed. It wasn’t an
unusual occurrence. They were always playful. I sat in the kitchen with
a broad smile on my face and thought about how the story I knew and
loved would have to eventually come to an end.
They grew old, built a family and a home together. Their health slowly
declined, first Lee than Norma. Norma broke her hip twice, had
bronchitis and knee surgery, plus several different occasions where she
was hospitalized for several days to weeks. Lee had fluid in his lungs;
when he was hospitalized she always found a way to stay with him. She
would never leave his side. When grandma was in the hospital, grandpa
couldn’t go because of his non-portable oxygen tank. It broke his heart
he had to stay home, which caused severe depression and repetitive
crying. Those cold nights were the first nights they had ever spent
apart during the 63 years they were married. It not only broke grandpa
and grandma’s heart’s to be separated, it broke their families’ hearts
to see them apart.
Grandpa told me that those were the days when love was real, gas prices
were low, families hardly separated, people prayed for good and not
personal requests, people were respectful and kind. I couldn’t imagine
days with such perfection, so much more simple and different. I loved
all his stories; my favorite was his love life. Sixty-three years, 10
children, and many grandchildren… a rare relationship. My favorite
characteristic was the visible love they had. Throughout the years
their love grew stronger when most love fades.
My great grandparents, Norma Jean and Lee Roy, have both passed away. I
miss them dearly, but the stories of “The Good Old Days,” the love they
shared and gave, the creation of family, and the past, will always have
a place in my heart. Some look at their grandparents as uninteresting.
I found mine extraordinary.
Cierra Kaufhold is
a Composition I student at Edison State Community College, Darke County
Campus. This was one of her assignments. She found her grandparents
extraordinary; I found her narrative extraordinary. Editor
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