The picture above is of a store. It's still there to this day. Granted, it has a paved parking lot, upgraded fixtures & what not now, but it's still there. I wish the aluminum shed that used to be there was, well, still there. It used to have a big "CN" on the front doors. I remember driving by it every night when I was 17. It's gone now. That's just how life goes.
Your Great Grandfather owned that store during what would turn out to be one of the most important moments of my future life.
You see, about 15 years after that picture was taken, your Great Grandfather bought that store. He had two daughters. Your Gammy & your great aunt Carolyn.
One of them ran off and eloped (I love my Aunt Carolyn). The other did not (I love my Mom).
I'm getting sidetracked.
One night, in the mid 60's, your Gammy was living above this store. By above, of course I mean the apartment on the second story. She lived there along with her Mother & Father. Back then Mom's & Dad's lived together willingly.
Let's fast forward to one Friday night on Route 11.
There is a restaurant/bar/damn near brothel, called "Watusy's" at the corner of Route 11 & Plantation Road. It used to be called the Harvest House. I think. I have no idea why I think that, though (literally, I don't recall what it was called).
Intervention!
Back to the point.
One night your Gammy decided to have dinner there and (that same damn night!) your Poppy decided to drink beer in the bar (you're finally catching on to the theme we like to call "Humanity", yes?). Now, the funny back story is that they had dated months before. Word on the street was that your Gammy had gotten pissed at your Poppy for some bullshit that boys do (we Do).
Needless to say, they ran into one another on the way to the bathroom. I cannot invent this. Believe me.
Long story short; your Gammy left her Date at their table & your Poppy left his Date at the bar... and they drove back to... you guessed it... that place in the picture.
Suffice it to say, both dates were pissed.
Women take scorning better than Men. At least in the interim. I'm guessing Poppy's date is very happy now. I honestly don't know.
What I DO know is that Gammy's date showed up (at that place in the picture) and threatened to whoop Poppy's ass. Knowing Poppy, that probably didn't sit well with him. I would imagine his inner banty rooster came out.
What's funny though... is that your Great Aunt Carolyn & her eloped hubby, your Great Uncle Non, were there.... by happenstance.
Thus, when Gammy's jaded date & all his buddies showed up to smack down your Poppy, well, your Poppy had back up.
But that never stopped your Poppy from walking out to the boy in question and saying (and I quote this because I've heard it 10,000 times growing up) "If she liked ya, she wouldn't be here with me, yea buckaroo?"
Yea. Buckaroo... *snort*. Kills me every time.
So thank Goodness for that night, that moment & all the shit that came down around it.
Hell, I wouldn't be here if it hadn't.
And that means...
