Flam News

Well, one of the good things about Grampa having been in the hospital (not that it was good that he was in there in the first place, he HATED that he couldn't tee off), but I had the opportunity, my second, to drive him and Buba home from Glenbrook, a very non-descript hospital, b-t-w.

Let's introduce David Mann at this point. He's Buba and Grampa's great nephew, meaning the son of one of my first cousins, Geri (married to Mark) Mann and an intern (resident?) in dermatology. I guess he was doing an Internal Medicine rotation now at Glenbrook. He saw a captive audience in Grampa and came to G's room to pump him for his history. See, G's brother, your Great Uncle Dan, passed away at 42 (?) or was it 47. I think the first.

Now David is Uncle Dan's grandson, so of course he wanted to interview G, his late grandfather's brother. He had never met his grandfather. David's first choice in medicine had been psychiatry, but he changed his mind when he realized he loved skin. He didn't say it quite that way. But he loved learning dermatology.

As you know, I haven't spoken to any of my Uncle Dan's 4 daughters in years. At one point I threw out an olive branch and had a terrific, friendly, sweet lunch with Geri Mann, David's mother, but that was it. I told her the ball was in her court, since I'd made the first contact, and didn't get the ball back. I didn't push it since there was so much bad feeling between G. and the Lorber family.

All Grampa wants in life is appreciation. You guys know that. He's really a very low maintainance guy in that way. Really in every way.

So the L girls didn't know that about G and now no one talks. But here comes David Mann.

So I've got G. and B.(Buba) in the car and Glenbrook Hosp is about a 20 minute drive. I drove slowly (although you'd never know it if you heard B. in the back seat-sorry, Mom, it's true).

I asked G about his night with David Mann and G was very excited to tell me the whole story. David asked him about the family rift (cut-off, to be technical) and G told him his side: I supported them for 25 years and they didn't appreciate me.

I don't think he sugar coated it very much.

I asked, Didn't he want stories about his grandfather?

Well, yes, he did. And I told him that Danny was a nice guy, a smart guy. He was my brother. And he looked like Clark Gable. Which he did.

What else? I told him about the three times I saved my brother's life.
(I'll post these another day, I've GOT to daven!).

What else? Nothing else, really.

Buba: You didn't tell him anything except that you saved his life?

Me: Stop, Mom

Me: Tell me about grampa and gramma. Tell me about their marriage. How did he treat her.

Long pause.

G: He was, I can't get the right word (long pause).

Buba (back seat): Dominant.

G: Right. He was dominant. His word was the last word.

Buba: You hear?

Me: What else?

G: He ruled the house.

Me: Did he rule you?

G: He tried.

Me: THAT'S WHERE I GET IT.

Buba: Get what?

Me: That don't tell me what to do thing. And my stubbornness.

Buba: You're stubborn?

Me: Well, yeah. Not so much, maybe. I don't know (I'm confused, uncertain. I wanted him to say something but he didn't).

Now what I should have asked was: Are the stories true? The Milwaukee girls tell me Grampa Morris(his father) used to chase you around the farm in Poland with a belt. But he had just come from a surgical procedure and we were rounding Niles Center Road.

Me Instead: Tell me more about you and Uncle Dan.

G: Once a guy was picking on him and I cracked the guy in the jaw. He never did that again.

It was nice.

Have a good day, kids. Love to you all.