‘My grandpa was my idol until I found out ---“

MY GRANDPA

©Mae Ondracek 12/6/2005

My grandpa was a very spry guy for someone that is 79 years old. He would do a lot of things with and for me. Like the time he took me to the car races. That was a very interesting trip to see whose car came in first. But my grandpa didn’t think I was too enthused about the trip because I didn’t yell enough. I asked him what I was supposed to yell about and he said, “You’re supposed to yell at everything that happens.”

Well, I didn’t know about that but I guess I just wasn’t interested in car races. Then he took me to the horse races. Now that is something I really got into. Those horses sure ran around that track and it wasn’t long before you had yourself a winner.

One day grandpa took me to the boxing match. I didn’t like that at all because all they did was knock each other down and get up and go punching one another again. Afterwards my grandpa took me in the back of the gym where the guys were and by golly, some man was giving grandpa some money. Later on when I asked him who that man was and why he gave him some money, he said not to worry about it, just never mention it to grandma. That would be his and my little secret, then he bought me an ice cream cone.

Now I really loved my grandpa and thought he was my idol but I seen him getting money after a game, that idea changed. I didn’t like going with him anymore, but my mom made me go with him so I could keep track of him. He did have a tendency to get ‘lost’ once in awhile. So, I kept an eye on him and yelled whenever he did and was down cast whenever he was.

One day I didn’t go with my grandpa to a car race and he didn’t come home for a very long time. My mother had to call the car racing place and was told he had left about 45 minutes ago. My mother said to me, “See why I like you to go with your grandpa? Now where can he be?”

It was about eight P.M. when the door bell rang and I went to answer it. It was two cops and grandpa. One of the cops said, “Hi, little man. Is this guy your grandpa?”

I kind of gulped and said, “Yes, Sir, he sure is my grandpa. Why?”

Both cops laughed at that and then said, “Is your mother or father here? We’d like to talk with them.”

I went into the kitchen and told mom and dad that it was the cops that brought grandpa home and they wanted to talk with them. They both hurried out in the entryway and my dad said, “Grandpa you old fool, now what have you been up too?”

One cop said, “He has been up to getting a lot of money, so we thought we’d bring him home.”

Dad said, “What do you mean, he’s been up to getting a lot of money?”

The cop said, “Well, he just got over a thousand dollars and we thought he might need help getting home with it.”

Mom and dad both looked like they had hung their voices out to dry because neither one of them could speak. Finally dad said, “You mean to tell me that Dad won a thousand dollars?”

The cop laughed and said, “That’s what we mean to tell you, Sir. We had to save him from a couple of very mean men. They were beating up on him to get his money.”

Then my dad said, “Would you folks like to come in and have some coffee?”

The cop said, “No thanks. It sounds very tempting, but we have to get back to the station.”

They started to leave and one of the cops turned around and said, “Aren’t you the little one that comes to the races with your grandpa?”

I shook my head and said, “Yes, Sir. I am.”

“Well, we’re sure glad you weren’t with him tonight,” he said. “Those two guys wouldn’t have left the both of you go. This is one time you stayed where you belonged. Good-bye.”

My mom came running to me and cried, “Oh, David. I’m so glad you stayed home today.”

“Me, too,” I said.

My dad was to busy counting all that money to be bothered with anything else until grandpa said, “I’ll have my money, now, if you don’t mind.”

“No dad, we’ll take you to the bank tomorrow and you can put it in there. I’ll keep it safe until tomorrow,” my dad said. “You had better go eat something now and let Alice put something on your ear. Does it hurt?”

Grandpa said, “No, it sure doesn’t. What is the matter with it?”

“It’s got a cut on it,” my dad said. “Alice will fix it up while you eat.”

Grandma stood in the doorway and suddenly she said, “You old fool. Just think if you’d of taken David with you. Maybe he wouldn’t be here right now.”

Grandpa kissed her and said, “I know, Mumsie. But I have a thousand dollars to spend any way I want to,” and he went into the kitchen to eat and get his ear cleaned up.

Happy that it was all over.