Story by Donna Swagerty Shreve, 1999
In the late 50’s the Floyd Swagerty family took a trip up to Ethel’s house in Eureka to visit Grandma Aldrich. To add extra drama to this visit, Mom had let her brother’s wife color her hair. The sister-in-law made a horrible mistake and Mom looked like a two-tone Bozo-the-Clown. She was in a panic because the last place she wanted to be looking like a clown was visiting very proper Grandma Aldrich. Her regular beautician fit her in as an emergency just before we left. This hair disaster impressed us children all the more that we would have to be on our very best behavior. The trip seemed much longer that the many hours it was because all four of us were in the back of the station wagon together.
When we got there the adults spent all the time sitting around talking and the four of us were to be model citizens. I became very bored with all of the proceedings and escaped into Ethel’s den to read my novel. I was now a teenager and felt above the games my younger siblings were engaged in. I had been in the room just a little while when the door opened and in walked Great Grandma Aldrich. I was sure I was in her room and would have to leave. My first concern was that I was making her inconvenienced or upset because maybe she had come into this room to escape like I had. She came in and sat next to me on the sofa. I realized she had come into the room because I was in there. She started telling me stories from her childhood. She said I reminded her of herself as a young girl. Why, I do not know, except that possibly my age was right and my boredom translated into a sad demeanor.
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