In the wintertime, Grandpa Jim came to live with us. The winters in Michigan were hard. His house wasn’t insulated, and there were only two pot belly stoves to heat the place. There was no indoor toilet. So, Mom insisted that Gramps stay with us.
His day began with a breakfast of coffee and bread. He tore one slice of Silvercup bread into shreds, and plunked them into coffee with milk. Slowly, he spooned up the soggy bread like cereal. After he ate, he shuffled into the living room to sit in the easy chair to read. First, he read the Hungarian paper cover to cover. The special paper came once a week, but it didn’t matter. He re-read the thing everyday until the new issue arrived. After he finished the Hungarian news he moved to the daily Chicago Times. After the Times, he pulled out a volume of the encyclopedia, and read that. He was self-taught, and his English reading skill was not great; but he loved to study. When he returned to the farm, he had new knowledge to share with his friends at Fish Corners.
Filed under: Biography, Characters I knew, Conservative, family, Grampa Jim, Jun-e-or, Memories, Uncategorized, Warm and Fuzzy Tagged: | Bread and Coffee, Encyclopedia, Hungarian, Michigan, Self Taught, southwest michigan, Study, Sun-Times, Winter
