headlibrarian

OK, here is another one from thestorylibrary.com

Please note that it is a true story.

Old Man

My grandparents on my father’s side were my least favourite relatives. I don’t think our parents knew this, but for us kids it was a certainty. They were not unkind or mean; in fact they treated us very much as I treat children now, with a bored and patronising air.

They never forgot Christmas or Birthdays, at which times we usually received books as gifts. Books! We were disgusted by this, yet these days I collect books to give to my nephews and nieces for when they are old enough to read them. Such is the circle of life.

Our grandparents came to stay a couple of times each year, and the routine was the same be it school time or the holidays, winter or summer. They smoked furiously throughout the day – at least a pack each, and when Blockbusters came on it was time to start drinking gin. Blockbusters was a crumby TV quiz in which school kids attempted to win prizes by answering general knowledge questions; it was on around five in the afternoon every weekday. Between them they drank a bottle of gin every day, perhaps more.

I distinctly remember a dinner party once when my grandparents were staying. The kids had been sent to bed, and as I often did, I pretended to go to bed before hiding in various parts of the house listening in to what I was missing out on. This particular evening, my father and grandfather were fixing drinks in the kitchen, away from the guests in the living room. My dad let out an enormous fart, a skill he was notable for, and I thought Grandpa might say something by way of admonishment to his son. However, he said something along the lines of wishing he could let out something similar as he had terrible heartburn. I crept back up to my bedroom feeling I’d learned more than enough about adult father-son relationships for one night.

Another time when they came to stay, they left late one Sunday morning. We kids were milling around in the front garden, dutifully waiting to get a hug from smoke-smelling Grandma and a handshake, and hopefully a couple of quid, from Grandpa. There were a few of our friends present, as there usually were on the weekend, but this does not excuse Grandpa for what happened. He came up to me and shook my hand, told me to study hard in school, and then slipped me a pound coin - the usual. I stood by the front door waiting for them to leave so we could get back to bicycle races or whatever it was we were doing that morning. Suddenly, Grandpa was stood in front of me again, not looking too steady on his feet. He looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name. I can’t remember the names of all my grandchildren’s friends at my age. Anyway, it was very nice to meet you and I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

I just stood there, dumbstruck as he walked over to the car, got in next to Grandma and drove off, tooting the horn.

He couldn’t have been more than seventy at that time; he still had another ten years on him, and there was no hint of mental illness to speak of, so my conclusion was that the old bastard was knocking back far more than half a bottle of gin each afternoon. He kindly gave the love-of-alcohol-gene to my father, but I like to think it has skipped my generation as I don’t like gin, and never start drinking until after the six o’clock news.


headlibrarian
the story library .com

SeanFields

Not bad except I would have loved more description. The whole thing was just a bit rushed but has so much potential to be an endearing story.

headlibrarian

Thanks SeanFields - the aim of thestorylibrary is to keep the stories true, and relatively brief, as if you were telling the story in the pub!

Mr Write

It was good, and interesting, and made me carry on reading to the end. perfect length if you ask me, maybe a bit more about your grandpa but apart from that good.

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http://www.writingforums.com/fiction...ent-crows.html
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Dana_Johnson

Good write. I think the length was just about right, though you could have used a few more lines for you grandpa. Nice work.

headlibrarian

Thank you guys. Athough quite sad, it is the only story I ever tell about my grandpa. Could have padded him out a little BUT don't remember that much about him.

suzuki

I enjoyed this story very much. Had a quick look at your site and enjoyed several of the stories I read. Will investigate more when I have time. Are they all your stories?

The Backward OX

No

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Originally Posted by Wildcard
I view with distaste the excretions polluting this site, suffering when I read another by-product of the boredom of one with access to a computer and the internet. As I read I feel I am being defecated on, and cling to an idea that one day I may find solace in the words of one who takes pride in their work.