More From Syl
In continuing the grandmother theme, I am typing out one more of her letters. This one came a month before the previous one – September 19, 1993.
When I was 3 years old in pre-school, I told my father that a boy a had bitten me. My father emphatically said, “Well, bite him back!” Now I see where that emotional maturity came from. 😉 Gotta love her!
Dearest Laura,
Ain’t it hell growing up?
We’ve been following the saga of the two-against-one for the past week, and are happy to learn that you’re moving out to a one-on-one situation. Three girls in one room is a recipe for trouble.
We’re sorry that you were the one to be put into this untenable situation, but my belief has always been that you learn more from problems than you do when things go smoothly. It’s not much fun, but you do a lot of growing up that way.
I’ll never forget that on my first job, there was a gal I had to work with who was Hell on wheels. She made my life miserable. Her name was Gladys Cooper. We finally hit it off okay. On my next job there was one other person who was always making snide remarks. It was then that my mom told me – “Remember, Sylvia, there will always be a Gladys Cooper.” And she was so right. About ten years ago, I took a trip alone (it was the first and only time I left Grandpa on a trip) to Machu Picchu in Peru, with the Bonsai Club. I had to share a room with a complete stranger, and she turned out to be a lulu! She was mean + insulting and did her best to ignore me. I caught on really quick and just paid no attention to her. Well, by the end of the trip she was doing everything she could to be my friend – to no avail. I had made other friends on the trip + that was that.
What I’m trying to say is – you always had many friends, you have what it takes to have good friends, and you don’t need to be friendly with people who don’t possess your qualities or values.
So – good riddance to bad rubbish and don’t let those two ex-roommates make your life miserable. Just remember EXCELSIOR (Look it up). And have fun.
It’s grandpa + mine 53rd Anniversary so we’re going out on the town to a fine dinner tonight with friends of long standing to celebrate our anniversaries.
We love you dearly,
Grandpa + Grandma