My family lost a very special person yesterday. Most of the world knew her as Fonda Day, but in my family she was either Fonda Mae or Granny Grunt. She was Mattie B's youngest sister, but there where times when I was young that I thought she was one of my grandmothers.
Following are just a few of the wonderful memories I will always have.
When we lived in Midland, I would get to spend several weeks in Abilene during the summer and some of those days were spent with her, just the two of us. On most of those nights, she would take me to Dairy Queen to get a dipped cone, take it home to eat outside as we put the birds to bed. We would sit in her back yard at dusk as the three large trees filled with birds settling in to roost for the night. And most of those nights she would get so mad at me. I would eat the chocolate off the dipped cone and then give her the ice cream to eat. I don't guess she was very mad since this scenario replayed over and over.
I'm sure we were going to a wedding and we were talking about getting married for some reason. I have no idea why this seemed important to me as a little girl, but I told her I wanted her to wear a red dress when I got married, Many years later, on February 4, 1984, she waltzed into Mom's house dressed in the prettiest red suit I had ever seen, ready to see Frank and I get married! She also made sure I was wearing "the ring" that night, just as she did for Katie on her wedding day twenty one years later.
There was one Christmas eve, either in the late 60s or early 70s, when all my cousins came in wearing go go boots. I wanted some so bad, and I really don't know why I didn't have any already. They were so cute. Being the sweet little unspoiled only child that I was (am), I'm certain I wasn't pouting or anything like that and I'm not real sure what all she had done to make this happen, but Granny quit what she was doing, cooking or some unimportant task I'm sure, and told me to go to the car. As we were walking out the door and everyone was asking where we were going, all she told them was that we would be right back. We drove to Thornton's and she bought me go go boots! I'm positive there was not a happier child on that Christmas eve.
Granny traveled to Houston often to see her family, Bill, Karin, Marcia and Greg, and one of us (Mattie B's granddaughters) would usually get to go with her. There will always be a debate in our family who was her travel companion on more trips, Trina or me (I say me! LOL). They were fun trips and for some reason, I always got the hiccups. Every time, she would slap a quarter on the dashboard to "buy" them from me. It always worked, once the quarter was there, I didn't hiccup again. But on one trip, she didn't have a quarter so she put a dollar bill there. Evidently, she put it up there to soon, because I had one hiccup left in me! Not only did I get the dollar, I don't think I got ever got the hiccups again on one of our trips!
And Marcia Kay, all I have to say is hippity hops, kissing table, bubble bath in the pool and starch in the bathroom! LOL Trust me, that's all anyone else needs to know!
When we started "bringing boys home", we were always embarrassed when she would hardly let them get in the door before she grabbed them and planted a huge Granny kiss right on their lips. Oddly enough, some of those boys would be brave enough to come back and some have stuck around for years!
There was never a child that went to visit her that she didn't find something for them to take home with them. Be it a piece of candy or a couple of pennies (with advice on saving them!), children were not to walk away from her empty handed. Even when we would visit her in the nursing home, she would find something, usually candy, for Mattie May to take with her.
Granny, I will miss you, but I know I will see you again some day.
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