Interlude

At Aunt Jean's memorial party, drinking Aunt Jean's memorial beer, we reminisced about our paternal grandfather. Grandpa, whose first name was Victor, used to love to jerk Grandma's chain. He was like a little boy in many ways. He loved to tease Grandma and she always rose to the bait. After someone had said a very reverent blessing over supper one night, Grandpa would chime in. "I've got a grace you can say over chicken. Here it is. Bless The Meat, To Heck With The Skin, Open Your Mouth, and Poke It In!" Grandma would say, "Oh, Victor." Later over dinner, the conversation turned to upcoming Fourth of July celebrations. Grandpa had a ditty for that too. To the tune of the 'Star Spangled Banner' he sang lustily, "Oh Say Can You See, Any Bed Bugs On Me? If You Can, Have a Few. Then We'll All Have Some Too!"

To this day, I can hear Grandma's voice echoing, "Oh, Victor."