Here's another reminisce-o-gram from Mike:

April,

Formerly little sis. I know I promised you and your Blog fan base I would talk more about Gramma Marian and what a “great” grandmother she was; but I got a last minute input from mom. She handed me 4 pictures and said, “Talk about these instead, Mike.” I said, “Are these pictures I have ever seen before?” Mom just gave me an evil look.

I showed my daughter the first picture and the script said, “One time, my mom took Elizabeth and me all the way to Vancouver to see Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marian.” My daughter said, “You said Gramma and Grampa before.” I said, “I know. But I have Grandpa and Grandma in this script from mom. Now, look at this picture.” In the picture was mom with the scarf she always seemed to wear around Grandma Marian. She had a suitcase under her left arm and with her right arm, she was pushing a stroller with Elizabeth in it. Mom was doing a pretty good job with that pushing, because when I try to push a stroller with only one hand, the stroller usually goes off to one side. She must not have been going too fast, because there I was hovering in front of her. The word balloon for the picture said, “Michael. I want you to get on the same plane we’re on.” My daughter said, “You could get on a different plane than your mom?” I said, “No. When I tried it, it didn’t work.”

My daughter stared at me blankly, so I showed her the next picture and read the script, “It was a long trip. I remember, because Elizabeth cried all the way.” In the picture was me wearing my Patterson man sweater/shirt combination with my fingers in my ears, mom holding Elizabeth by her shoulder and her stomach in the next seat, and a grumpy-looking man in the seat next to mom. My daughter said, “Look, Daddy. That guy in the picture next to Gramma Elly doesn’t have any arms.” I said, “No wonder he looks so grumpy.” My daughter said, “I think he’s grumpy ‘cause Auntie Liz was crying. Look what the word balloon says.” And sure enough, the word balloon said, “She must have a problem with her ears!” That’s some pretty good crying, if you hurt not only the ears of the people around you, but your own ears too.

I showed my daughter the next picture and read the script which said, “Mom was really miserable, which made me kind of happy…” In the picture, I was reading with my eyes closed, and mom held Elizabeth over her shoulder to point her crying noises at the seat behind us. It looked like that trick worked, since there was a little explosion back there. My daughter said, “You were mean when you were little, Daddy.” I said, “Not mean. There are lots of things you can do with a crying baby on a plane; but mom prefers to be miserable and suffer. It’s only when she is miserable and suffering, that mom is truly happy.” My daughter said, “And when she eats.” I said, “And when she eats. That’s right, too. So, if mom is really miserable, she is really happy, which means I should be happy too. Doesn’t that make sense?” My daughter said, “No, Daddy.” I said, “Let’s look at the next picture.”

The last picture was a picture of me with just a pupil for an eye and no sclera, which is how I looked in those days. I was still reading, only now I had a smile on my face. My mom looked over at me, and my little sister “Blurbp”ed up the green and red thing she had eaten for lunch. I read the script which said, “’Cause next to my baby sister, I was beginning to look like an angel!” My daughter said, “You don’t look like an angel in the picture. You look like the devil.” I said, “Daughter. You have to understand mom to understand why I looked like an angel. Now, what am I doing in the picture?” My daughter said, “Reading a book.” I said, “And how does my mom feel about reading books?” My daughter said, “She talks about reading books to us all the time, but she never does.” I said, “I mean, how does my mom feel about people who read books?” My daughter said, “They are like God.” I said, “And how would an angel look to my mom?” My daughter said, “Like a person using his wings to read a book.” I said, “Exactly.” My daughter said, “You still look like a devil.” I said, “What’s important is I looked like an angel to mom and I still do, even to this very day.”

More tomorrow, formerly little sis. Perhaps I will speak of Grandma Marian. It all depends on what mom hands me.

Love,
Michael Patterson

Y'know, Mike, I was surprised when Mom got me making fake old pics in Photoshop again, since I figured there were enuf real old pics 4 U 2 use 4 the reminiscing. Especially since I know I've seen pics of U, Liz, and Mom visiting Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marian during this early trip. There R even pics of Dad dropping U off @ the airport and pics on the plane. I dunno Y Mom thinx we need 2 supplement them. Also, there R pix from a l8er trip when U were older and Dad went w/U 2, and U all also went 2 Winnipeg and saw the other grandparents. So, Y'd U make it sound like this trip U just told Merrie abt was the ONLY time U ever went 2 visit Mom's parents? Or is it one of those tricky choice-of-words things. "One time, my mom took Elizabeth and me," as opposed to other times, when Mom AND Dad took U?

NEway, it sounds like Merrie has a pretty clear idea of what kind of a kid U were!

Apes