One Single Impression: Romance

The boy liked her awfully much

But he was a poor kid

From the hills of Woodbury

And she was from Yonkers and then Stamford

And so refined--

She knew how to paint

To play the violin

To sail, sew, embroider

And to shoot (she was a crack shot)--

And her mother was

A Baptist and so very strict

But the boy liked her awfully much

One day he dressed like a girl

And applied to work

As her mother's household servant

But her mother the Baptist

Was as quick and sharp as a switch

And she chased

Her future son-in-law

Who would become a plumber

Down the road.

My grandmother told me this story many a time when I was young. It goes without saying she was proud of her dad's gumption and grit. The story went on: after the death of his father-in-law, my great-grandfather would take in his mother- and sisters-in-law and support them. They would live in the home for which my great-grandmother drew up the plans and my great-grandfather had built for her. My great-grandparents would have six kids, live well, and love each other to the very end.

One Single Impression