A Valentine’s Day Story

as Grandma for a date.

From Grandma’s point of view, I had learned that Grandma’s father did not fully approve of Watson taking his daughter for a date. You see, Grandpa rode his Indian motorcycle across Route 202 and knocked on the door of the Storms Homestead and asked to see Bertha. According to Grandma, it was her father who answered the door and when he saw Grandpa’s motorcycle in the back driveway, he was very concerned about Watson being too wild and reckless for his beloved daughter.

Grandpa often told me, with a big smile on his face, how he remembered sitting on the bench just outside the backdoor of the old Storms Homestead. “I remember your Grandma and her father had a bit of a discussion whether or not your Grandma was going to be allowed to go for a motorcycle ride with me,” Grandpa would tell me. Then Grandma would interrupt Grandpa and say to me, “but I finally convinced Pop to let me take that motorcycle ride with your Grandpa!”

In May of 1916, my grandfather got the courage to ask his beloved Bertha to marry him. She said yes. They got married the very next month. Together my grandparents had nine children, 15 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, and 16 great great grandchildren.

In memory, I return to those wonderful and magical times of watching and listening to Grandpa tell his stories of the remembrances of his life as a young man. I do my best to be true to bring his stories back to life, to honor the beloved patriarch. I loved my grandfather all so very much. In many ways, he taught me a lot about the fine art of storytelling. I dearly miss him.

Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer. He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@hotmail.com.