The first time I met my wife’s grandmother was long before I was married. I was at the ballpark in the town where I grew up. It was the summer after I graduated from high school and before my wife, Andrea and I had started dating each other. We were good friends so when I ran into her at the park where her brother was playing baseball, she wanted to introduce me to her grandmother, Eura Mae. Later that night, I was on my way home, walking through the park. A small car pulled up next to me being driven by my Eura Mae. They asked if I wanted a ride home. I told them I was in the mood to walk home that night, but I thanked them for the offer.
Andrea and I started seeing each other when I was home from college the following Christmas break. When I was home for the following spring break, we went to the river with her mother to visit Eura Mae. First, we stopped at her grandmother’s house and visited. Later we went to a restaurant at the state park to eat. After the waitress had taken our order, we sat for a little bit and no one was talking. Eura Mae was sitting across the table from me. She said, “You remember that time you were at the park and we offered you a ride home? Why didn’t you ride with us? Were you afraid that I was going to kick your ass?” I don’t remember if I laughed but I probably stammered some kind of response.
Andrea has said often that I was the only male that Eura Mae liked other than her husband. Eura claimed that she couldn’t remember my name. So, she called me Frankenstein. One year for Christmas, I found a small picture of the Frankenstein monster and gave it to her in a small frame. After she died, we found this picture when we were going through all her stuff. We brought it home and placed it in our printer’s drawer in her honor.