When my 93 year old Grandma had fallen ill, and it was her time she and I had a conversation and I recorded it with my phone. This is who she was, so grateful for love and for life. The Good Life.

(Me to my Dad):  Dad, did I ever meet Madelyn?

Dad: "No"

-Tell me about her?

“She was my sister. She was a neat kind of person. You know Madelyn, her husband is Richard Boyd. Really neat neat people.”

“I lost her. I miss her. I loved her. When she died I really felt terrible she didn’t have good medical care. We both had the same thing- breast cancer, just like my mother did. Things happen.”

-You beat your cancer though.

“My kids are adopted they didn’t get the gene.”

“It is wonderful to adopt kids. I had a little girl that died at birth, so we adopted our babies.  My kids are fantastic. I love them to death.”

“I couldn’t have any more kids after I lost one. I never got pregnant again.  But that’s okay.”

-How old were you?

“Gosh. I got married when I was 23.  I don’t remember. We were married in 1946, but I don’t know how old I was. 1946, and the baby died a year later.”

“I don’t have many bad memories. We were so blessed to get your Dad and Laurie.  I still remember going downtown to get them.  Best day of my life.  Beautiful Jim, your Dad, how old was he? I can’t remember how old he was.”

He was a baby….

“A baby, yeah, his Birthday is January 2^nd.  We got him March 21^st.”

He was two months old.

“Yeah.  He was two months old, beautiful baby. I used to take him to Bullocks and they would ooh and ahh over him.  He was beautiful.”

--“Well, I’m talking too much.”

-No you’re not, I want you to never stop talking.

“I hope not”. [giggle]

“Did you get thru school good?”

I did. All done.

“You got thru.  Did you get pretty good grades?”

mmm..hmmm…

“I bet you did. Did you take art classes as a little kid?”

Yeah, I took it in college too.

“Really? Where did you go to college?”

Portland State, in Oregon.
 

“What took you up there?”

A boy.
 

“Really?!” [laugh]

A silly boy.

“What was his name?”

Kevin.

“Do you see him today?”

No.

“Oh. Well, you are a beautiful girl Niccole. I’m very proud of you.”

Thank you.

“You always had a good life. Now you have a precious little boy.”

--“Well, I’m talking too much.”

No you’re not talking too much, there is no such thing.

“Daddy and I have had a good life. We were married on the radio. Did you know that?”

Tell me the story.

“I worked at NBC in Hollywood and I heard about this program Bride & Groom, so I signed up for it.  It was really good because I didn’t have a mother to put on a wedding for me, and so we had a beautiful wedding and a honeymoon free of charge at the hotel Del Coronado . We did very good.  It was beautiful, it was really beautiful.  And we have had a good life.”

What did your dress look like?

“ I borrowed a wedding dress from a girlfriend.  It’s up there some place (eyes glancing above the piano at a portrait of her daughter Laurie on her wedding day) there, that’s it (pointing)”

“That’s a nice picture. Isn’t it nice.  That’s a really neat picture. Very happy.”

Was Grandpa still in the Navy?

“No, he was just out. Ya, he was all out. Not very long, but he was out.”

I bet he looked very handsome in his Navy uniform.

“His Navy uniform. He got married in that.  I wanted him to wear a tuxedo. He wanted to wear his Navy uniform, I didn’t care. That was good.”

“Life is good if you make it good, you have to make it good yourself.”

“Remember in Hollywood we got married? I don’t remember that day too much. Weeheew! It went by in a flash! Imagine borrowing a wedding dress from your girlfriend.  We didn’t have a lot of money. But, we did good. I liked the dress.  So many girls were wearing strapless, sexy lookin dresses. I liked that one.”

You like to me modest.

"Yes. I do. It’s funny. You’ve never heard of anyone borrowing a wedding dress, but I did. I had it dry cleaned and sent back to her. Her daughter didn’t get married in it, she wanted a more sexy one probably.”

---“I can’t talk anymore. I am out of breath.”

--“water?”

“I’m ok. I have lemonade right here.”

I love you.

“I love you, sweetheart, I can’t get my breath good. Let’s just relax and not talk for a minute.”

I love you.

“I love you Niccole, you’re a beautiful girl. I love you, you have a beautiful little boy, I don’t get to see him often enough.”

Okay, I will bring him over.