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Archiver > APG > 2008-02 > 1203812593


From: Elizabeth Whitaker <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Names for grandparents
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:23:13 -0500
References: <cbc.287e646c.34f19d66@aol.com><000c01c87636$27608e50$7621aaf0$@net> <005301c87637$e1311bf0$0200a8c0@NankiPoo><003401c87642$de7a5f60$0201a8c0@YOUR58BA15CF1B>
In-Reply-To: <003401c87642$de7a5f60$0201a8c0@YOUR58BA15CF1B>


My paternal grandmother died when I was three
months old and my paternal grandfather died
shortly before I turned three. I remember my
paternal grandfather but not what I called
him. (I'm the oldest of three, so I can't get
any help from my sisters on this.)

I called my maternal grandmother
"Grandmother" and my maternal grandfather
"Granddaddy." I believe I was instructed to
do this. I saw them very rarely when I was
growing up as we were moving around a lot
when I was little, then my parents cut off
contact with them just before I started
school. (This grandmother made life a living
Hell for four generations of her kin,
especially her daughters; my dad finally had
enough of seeing my mother abused by her mother.)

I've learned that, when I speak of either of
my paternal grandparents to my dad or his
siblings, I have to say "your mother" or
"your daddy" because, when I've referred to
them as "Grandmother" or "Granddaddy," it
causes confusion.

I realized in the mid1980s that my maternal
grandmother was an alcoholic. She died in
early 2001. Recently, I've started thinking
of her as a Southern Hyacinth Bucket ("Bouquet").

Elizabeth Whitaker



Richard A. Pence wrote:
> I guess I had no imagination. I called my paternal grandmother, who lived
> next door, "Grandma." I called my maternal granmother, who lived with us,
> "Grandma."
>

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