This year’s ice storm brought us an unexpected, but welcomed overnight guest. My grandmother spent the night at our house when she found herself without any electricity or heat. We had not spent the night together in many, many years. I forgot how much fun it was.
Growing up, I stayed at my grandmother’s house every weekend. My mom would take me to her home on Fridays and I would stay through Sunday night. Some Fridays, I got to start the weekend early when mom would take me to my grandmother’s office in downtown Louisville.
My grandmother started her career at Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company. She worked as a switchboard operator when she was a teenager and continued to work for the same company until she retired at age 55. During that time, the company went from being Southern Bell to South Central Bell to Bell South and eventually AT&T.; My grandmother was there through it all, holding various positions and working her way up the corporate ladder before the term glass ceiling was something to be shattered.
I have vague memories of my grandmother’s office. She had a typewriter and a phone on her desk. There were pink and green tablets that she would let me write on, and sometimes, I was allowed to type on her typewriter. I’m sure those moments spent sitting at her desk framed my idea of what my work life would be like one day.
My grandmother now lives in Floyd County; but before she retired, her house was in Middletown, Ky., a few miles out from what would eventually be the Blankenbaker Parkway exit off of Interstate 64.
After leaving her downtown office, we would head east on I-64, making our way through the tunnels and past Oxmoor Mall. If needed, we would stop at Ehrler’s for a gallon of ice cream before heading home to watch “Dallas” and then “Falcon Crest.” Friday nights included J.R. Ewing and the president’s ex-wife: “That lady used to be married to Ronald Reagan,” grandma would tell me every time Jane Wyman would show up in a scene on “Falcon Crest.” Saturday nights were “The Love Boat” and “Fantasy Island.”
I can remember her house like I was there last week. The kitchen was filled with avocado-green appliances and there was a small window over the sink to look into the family room. The family room had wood paneled walls with an oversized television console next to the brick fireplace. The rug that covered her family room floor would end up being the same rug that I used in my college dorm room.
Until last week’s storm, I hadn’t thought about my grandmother’s old house in years. Having her stay overnight refreshed all those memories of being tucked in her family room with plenty of ice cream and Aaron Spelling television programming.
While we were fortunate enough to have our power throughout the storm, grandma not having her power was a blessing in disguise for me. I got to fix her dinner and kept the mandatory pot of coffee brewing the entire time she was here. We ate, drank coffee, and stayed up into the wee hours of the night watching television. (Who knew “The Golden Girls” would still be as funny today as when they first premiered years ago during one of my weekend nights with grandma?)
I don’t see my grandmother as often as I used to see her. Compared to staying at her house every weekend for more than 10 years, the times I see her now feel like blips on a radar screen. The ice storm gave me a chance to remember how we used to be with each other, just hanging out.
My grandmother was my first shining example of a working woman. She inspired me and motivated me, always telling me how smart she thought I was and that I could accomplish anything. It wasn’t until she left the next night that I realized I had become exactly the person I wanted to be when I was a 5-year old little girl sitting in her office, typing on her typewriter. I am a working mother, just like my grandmother was.
Amy Gesenhues is a freelance writer who lives in Floyd County. You can read her daily commentaries at www.amywroteit.wordpress.com. E-mail her directly at amy@amywroteit.com.
Columns
Related Photos
Discussion
GESENHUES: Memories with my grandmother
- Columns
-
-
CLERE: Walkout is absurd
The walkout by Indiana House Democrats entered its third week yesterday as tensions continued to rise and misinformation proliferated.
-
LADD: New Albany has new energy
New Albany is evolving. Public art has become more prevalent in the downtown, drawing more locals and outside visitors to our community; bringing more publicity.
-
HARBESON: The compromising nature of compromise
But there’s nothing inherently wrong with the concept of compromise. This is simply an example of how government coercion can skew and twist any concept beyond its original meaning and purpose.
-
RESCHKE: My Amazing Ohio River Bridges Project Plan
The point of sharing this memory is that once we have tolls, they will be there for as long as the bridges exist and the dollar price for frequent commuters that’s been proposed is the cheapest those tolls will ever be.
-
MOORE: The system can still work
On the local scene, services like Jerry Westmoreland’s recovery services, Bliss House, the Drug Courts (adult and juvenile) and the like are proper uses of this alcohol and drug fund money. Families in need due to a member having an addiction that affects all of them seem appropriate beneficiaries, too.
-
BEAM: As ‘Time’ goes by: A magazine’s maternal ploy
What does disgust me is the way Time used the cover photo to paint an inaccurate picture of attachment parenting and, some could argue, motherhood.
-
HAYDEN: For many, voting didn’t count for much
Three-fourths of Indiana voters who did vote, did so in the Republican primary. That makes sense: The Lugar-Mourdock contest was the marquee race, so plenty of Democrats sat it out.
-
HOWEY: Mourdock, Donnelly and the great divide
An hour after Mourdock made that explanation, U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly met with reporters at Ralph’s Great Divide restaurant. Donnelly insisted the site was chosen because “they have great meatloaf,” but used the place as a metaphor that the contrast between him and Mourdock “cannot be clearer.”
-
CUMMINS: Where did the Sabbath day go?
In the old days the little towns and rural areas across America, the churches were a vital part of our lives. They were sacred places where we received moral instruction and guidance.
-
DODD: The total package
One of the character traits anyone must possess in order to have a happy, fulfilled life is to know your own strengths. Even more important is to know your weaknesses and shortcomings. If you don’t think you have any or don’t recognize your own, someday after you get married they will be made imminently clear to you.
- More Columns Headlines
-
Defense Rests in John Edwards Trial
GM Says It Will Stop Paying for Ads on Facebook
911 Call: Confusion at Home Where Mom Shot Kids
Jury Convicts Steve Powell of Voyeurism Charges
Skechers to Pay $40 Million for Bogus Claims
Coffee May Be Key to Living Longer
Police to Groom of Slain Bride: Turn Yourself In
Laurie Fine: My Life Has Been Destroyed
FTC: Skechers Deceived Consumers With Shoe Ads
FBI Confirms Leak Probe on Al-Qaida Plot
Romney Calls Obama a 'Disappointment'
Honda Unveils New Robotics-powered Scooter
NJ Gov., Mayor Channel Seinfeld in Video Parody
Blood Drive for Woman With Flesh-Eating Disease
AG Race Tops Oregon Primary Interest
Obama Welcomes Beckham, Galaxy to White House
Raw Video: Mladic's Genocide Trial Under Way
Court Records Detail Zimmerman Injuries
Local Community Prepares for G8 Summit
New Guidelines for US Nuclear Plants
