Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Some of my earliest memories of Grandmommy involve her garden and her kitchen. In the summertime we would take a long pole down the little dirt alley behind their condo on Lark-field Maples, down to a Santa Rosa plum tree that hung over the fence. We’d poke and shake the tree, and dodge the falling…

My memories of Grandmommy start pretty early. We would periodically pack the family up in the Volkswagen Microbus, with its nary robust 1800cc motor, and embark on a seemingly endless journey for Santa Rosa. Jessica and I would spend so much time on our roller skates that we would only see Grandmommy around lunch and…

My mom has been telling me for years that Grandmommy is a very strong woman. I have no doubt — anytime we saw her, she looked like she had every right to complain about every ache and pain, but she never did. She just smiled. The weekend Grandmommy passed, I went to a wild ani-mal…

I never saw Grandmommy outwardly up-set or bothered by anything. Even if she was describing something she didn’t ap-prove of, there was never a hint of nasti-ness. In elementary school, I interviewed Grandmommy for a paper about the Great Depression. She didn’t tell a *sad* story. She talked about how she lived as if there…

Last year I had the chance to bring my son to meet his great-grandparents. There is a photo of GG beaming with joy at a Nice To Meet You kiss from Jack. It occurs to me that she had that same pride and joy about all of us in her family–interested in our lives and…

My Grandmama will always be remem-bered as a gentle and graceful person with a shining smile. My memories of her all include that ready smile and wise words. The house in Santa Rosa I visited as a child was always so invit-ing, playing with Grandmama’s old toys and listening to Grandaddy play the piano. One…

A long and bright memory of my mother is how she cared for me when I went to bed with rheumatic fever in the spring of my first grade in school. I didn’t eat a meal at the table until Christmas of that year. I was 6, Jeanne was a very active 4 year old,…

I was so blessed to have the mother-in-law that I did. I loved her so much. I married Mom’s only son – and the baby to boot! You’ve heard the stories of the kind of mother-in-law that can make life so very difficult for her daughter-in-law. Can’t do anything right and will never be able…

So many memories. Mommy was very nice about letting our pets come in the house. I also remember Mom’s friends who came over for coffee. Mom was very hospitable and everyone came over for coffee and a good chat at our dining room table. We had many home delivery services in those days because most…

October 6, 2009 Dear Ma, I can still remember you making sandwiches for me and Dick or Jimmy in the kitchen and we would take a bite out of one half and pretend they were pirate boats and push them around the counter. I still sometimes play with my food. It’s called “plating” or “presenting”,…