Grandma's Lessons
My great grandmother lived until I was seven. One day she was there and then she was gone. She prayed every day at night and lit candles for those who had gone before her. She was a simple woman who only spoke Spanish and she sat on one chair every day on the porch just before it was time for me to come home from school. I would estimate how far I would need to be from home before I could see her sitting there waiting for me to kiss her on the cheek. I remember times when I did not kiss her because I'd had a bad day but of course today I wish I had kissed her every day for waiting for this little boy to come home. A little boy that never felt good about himself and a little boy who did not know why he liked other boys more than girls. My great grandmother was a fantastic person and at the time I just did not know it. She was one of my first teachers.
When I was angry I use to tease my grandmother saying things that were likely not very nice. I would tease her because in my heart I knew she could not catch me to give me the ass whipping I so deserved. Sometimes to my surprise she would store up the insults and get me with a broom on the head later in the day or even the next day. She found a way to get me to understand that what I did was not acceptable. She was my first teacher. This scenario would repeat itself many times over. I would get stupid and then she would let it go or get to me later. She waited for me every day and I dreaded it. Now of course I cherish it. I just do. Now that I know better.
My great grand mother was a leader to me. She lead my beliefs and my dreams. She led me to understand that respect doesn't come from yelling and screaming but by becoming silent and at ease. She was one of those people in my life that taught me those basic feelings and skills that we all need to learn and that some have not yet learned. She makes me smile today because I think of her chasing me with a broom and then later surprising me with a good whack on the butt. She had it all. Common sense and love for mankind. She made me who I am in part and I will remember that as long as I live.
Grandmas are for many of us, our first teacher. For some of us life began with the lessons that some eighty year old person taught us. Lessons I will never forget. Do unto others. Thou shall not run from your just punishment. Everything we do here we pay for here. You cannot cover the sun with your hand. You cannot drown in a glass of water. Be who you are. Take what you have and do your best with it. Do unto others. Most of all what starts well ends well. All those lessons and so little time to learn them. Here I am sixty years old and going to be sixty one in April. Life's lessons never end. They begin with lessons we learn from our grandparents and teachers and they just never end because it the next person to be our teacher could be a stranger.
Elliott Collazo Gonzalez
When I was angry I use to tease my grandmother saying things that were likely not very nice. I would tease her because in my heart I knew she could not catch me to give me the ass whipping I so deserved. Sometimes to my surprise she would store up the insults and get me with a broom on the head later in the day or even the next day. She found a way to get me to understand that what I did was not acceptable. She was my first teacher. This scenario would repeat itself many times over. I would get stupid and then she would let it go or get to me later. She waited for me every day and I dreaded it. Now of course I cherish it. I just do. Now that I know better.
My great grand mother was a leader to me. She lead my beliefs and my dreams. She led me to understand that respect doesn't come from yelling and screaming but by becoming silent and at ease. She was one of those people in my life that taught me those basic feelings and skills that we all need to learn and that some have not yet learned. She makes me smile today because I think of her chasing me with a broom and then later surprising me with a good whack on the butt. She had it all. Common sense and love for mankind. She made me who I am in part and I will remember that as long as I live.
Grandmas are for many of us, our first teacher. For some of us life began with the lessons that some eighty year old person taught us. Lessons I will never forget. Do unto others. Thou shall not run from your just punishment. Everything we do here we pay for here. You cannot cover the sun with your hand. You cannot drown in a glass of water. Be who you are. Take what you have and do your best with it. Do unto others. Most of all what starts well ends well. All those lessons and so little time to learn them. Here I am sixty years old and going to be sixty one in April. Life's lessons never end. They begin with lessons we learn from our grandparents and teachers and they just never end because it the next person to be our teacher could be a stranger.
Elliott Collazo Gonzalez
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