Dear Katy
Sure, I bet you get tired of hearing people's problems. Whine, whine, whine. Bet you think you’ve heard it all, don’t you? But I bet you never heard about a man with two noses, have you? Not on his face mind you, but in the center of his chest there was a perfectly formed proboscis. It belonged to an old vaudeville hoofer by the name of Francis Lattimore. Frankie Two-Nose, we used to call him, and he was quick as a whip with a quip. Remember Jimmy Durante and how he’d say “that ain’t no banana, that’s my nose”. Got that one from Frankie.
But I didn’t write to talk about my old friends, no, I wrote to tell you about my granddaughter the ingrate. You remind me a lot of her, Katy. Little things, like your face, your name, and your black little heart. You care to tell me to give a hug to Gramma when you know full well that she succumbed to sorrow long ago when she realized what depths her beloved ‘Katy’ was willing to sink to in an effort to besmirch the Jenkins family name. Arrrgh, you’re not a ‘Katy’, you’re a Catherine, just like Catherine the Not-So-Great, what with her filthy stallion Blaze, and her putrid cake eating mouth that had the crumbs all over it.
So, what you think, girl? Pretty good acting, eh? Yes, old Grampa still has the chops to play a lot of different parts! There are those that think that I played Mortimer in ‘The Fantasticks’ for such a long time that I don’t know anything else, but they’ve forgotten about my role as the scallywag in that two hour episode of ‘Barretta’, or my recurring role of the curmudgeonly old man in ‘She’s the Sheriff’.
I wanted to make you an offer, Katy. You see, I just got an invite to write a show biz advice column for the lovely and talented Gina Overly at her new Michael Jackson trial site, but I said to myself maybe I should lend my beloved Katy a hand with her column instead. We could rename it “Ask Grampa and Katy”, and as far as I’m concerned, your name could be in the same type size as mine. It’d be gangbusters!
Don’t keep me waiting. An offer as good as this one won’t last for long.
Hugs and kisses,
Grampa
p.s. – Maybe we could meet for a bite over at Hannigan’s Deli. You know they recently named a sandwich, 'The Grampa', after me – corned beef, turkey, and avocado – and I’d love to treat you to one.
Dear Grampa,
That Gramma “succumbed to sorrow long ago” is an awful fancy way of dressing up “was run over, twice, with my brand new riding lawn mower last fall” now isn’t it? First her legs and then her upper body and face. Neatly in half. And then lengthwise. “I didn’t see her,” you exclaimed later. “I thought she was crabgrass! Or a nematode!” She was wearing her bright red/white and blue housecoat that I got her for Labor Day, poor ole soul. She had just gotten the mail and was shuffling back toward the house. The neighbors heard her screaming “NO GRAMPA! NO!” after the first pass, but you just finished the row, turned and headed back for more.
“FOR GOD’S SAKE! NO, THADDEOUS, NO!! I THINK I LEFT THE IRON ON! WHERE’S MY PURSE?!” were her last words. RIP.
You claimed you didn’t see the 200 pound flailing upper body of the only person in this world who still believed, after all those years, that it was the dog who’d just farted. You ran her down like a cold blooded predator, with the mulching attachment and a trail of Weed and Feed. You two didn’t even have a dog. You are the lowest of the low, you putrid lesion. The judge looked at those enlarged photos of a nematode and said he believed you. You and your $50 Off All Canadian Prescriptions! Coupon, which I saw you hand the bailiff. You old people make me sick.
Hannigan’s Deli has been closed for 30
years. The building was torn down and now homeless people go there to
sleep and shit. But whatever you can find there, feel free to name after
yourself. And by all means, enjoy the sandwich!
Katy