That brings to mind the time my beloved parakeet,Buckeye Bird,flew into the frying pan while you were cooking breakfast.I wasn’t supposed to let him out of his cage,but I had,and he burned his feet.I thought you’d be so mad at me,but all you could think about was getting medical attention for that poor bird.The pharmacist thought you were nuts when you asked what brand of antibiotic cream he would recommend to rub on a parakeet’s feet.
Speaking of funny animal stories,do you recall when my pet hamster,Brownie,got stuck in the dryer hose?You called Sears,where you’d purchased the clothes dryer,to ask how we might get him out of the predicament.They told you to turn on the machine,and the initial thrust of air would push him through.We did,and Brownie the Hamster Cannonball flew through the air.Daddy caught him in his baseball glove.It was hard to believe,but the exploding hamster lived to see another day!
Which reminds me...do you recollect the time I blew up the stove while trying to earn my Girl Scout cooking badge?It took a year for my eyebrows and eyelashes to grow back.You slept with me that night and told me that it wasn’t my fault.Still,it was a long time before you left me alone in the kitchen.
I never told you this before,but after my baking fiasco,your own dear mother shared with me a secret about the pressure cooker she’d given you as a wedding gift.The first time you used it,you’d set the timer to“high”and your chicken dinner became part of the kitchen light fixture.Grandma told me it took Daddy a week to scrape it off the ceiling.At least I only lost facial hair.
Your mother must not have criticized you,because you never lectured or punished me for all the foolish things I did through the years.You said that everything was a learning experience and that as a child I had an active imagination and marched to my own drummer.
I think I’m still that way,Mom.And that is exactly what I try to focus on when your two granddaughters are yanking my chain.They’re doing fine,but they miss you.Both of them keep a photo of you in their living rooms.The greatgrandchildren,all five of them，will never forget their“Nana Virginia.”