The Unabridge Naked Truth About Grandma

The Completely

Unabridged,

Naked Truth

About

Grandma

Inspired by the work of a fellow artist during a class taught by Tracy Budd at the Studio School in Roanoke, VA.

This

is the totally unabridged

An’ naked truth

‘bout Grandma…

I know

‘cause she’s mine

An’ I’m hers…

So she tells me all the time,

Like, while she’s pinnin’ her privatey thangs

Onto the saggedy wire

That cuts ‘cross the space

Twixt the two

Tenement buildin’s

Down on Lower South Side.

It’s real near the river.

Near the river

is where Grandma used to work.

The man Momma’s seein’ now Says,

“She used to work IT

Reeeal good.”

An’ I believes him

‘cause Grandma always says,

“Give it yer best, or don’ give it at all.”

She gived me a pair of old shoes, That momma says

I can’t wear outside;

“They’s jest fer dress-up,

IN the house.”

It’s OK,

I can’t walk in ‘em,
Jest yet

But I’m practicin’.

I seen anuther pair sorta like ‘em,

Only with spikety heels that’s a lot longer den mine

At Grandma’s.

They’s reeeal red,

Redder ‘n the far-trucks that’s parked on Front Street,

But not as red as the long, sequin-dy gown

That sparkles when I let the light into Grandma’s chifferobe,

Where I’m not supposed to

Peek.

But sometimes I do.

I seen pictures in there, too.

Grandma used to dress reeeal nice,

An’ she filled that sparkle-dy gown Riiight up!

You can tell the men in those pictures

Liked it  …A lot

An’ her

Stuff

Didn’t hang like it does now.

I heard Grandma say so,

Once.

I think she still looks pretty good,

For a grandma.

I hear-d som-a the old fellas

Out front-a the closed up mercantile say as much,

They says stuff like,

“Dat woman…

Still got it…yesss, sirreee.”

They say some other things,

But Momma wouldn’t like me repeatin’ it.

So I won’t.

There’s times I think grandma jest hangs out her privatey things

To make people below look up.

‘Cause lotsa times she ain’t wearin’ nuttin’,

Specially ‘round’ the house.

She likes to stand at her winda

Catchin’ a cool breeze ‘n

Starin’ down inta that space

Betwixt the two buildin’s

Naked

All bared up

‘Cept for them red shoes.

Those times

I think she fergets that I’m there.

She gets a kinda

Smile on her lips.

Den she’ll hum a tune,

Or sway her hips

Back ‘n forth, back ‘n forth,

Til she gets tired or remembers I’m there.

She’ll slip her purpledy dressing gown over her shoulders

An’ then slip off those shoes,

Rubbin’ hard at her toes,

Shakin’ her head,

Laughin’ ‘bout somethin’,

I don’t know.

If I ask,

She’ll just say,

“Child, you is too young for my stories…

Someday…

Someday we’ll talk,

But not just yet.”

You can bet, I won’t let her ferget that.

She usually makes me get her biters off the mantel piece,

Then tugs one of my braids, when she slips those yellowin' teeth into place.

Some mornin’s she fixes me mush before we do the shoppin’.
I only like Grandma's mush.

She takes her liquidy “med-cine”

From a cup.

I know what

“med-cine”

Really is.

My daddy used to buy it at the licker-store,

Before momma made him leave.

Grandma says hers is for the arthee-rightus.

It sure does loosen her up good.

Sometimes,

when she’s all good an’ loose,

We turn up the music

Reeeal high.

An’ we dance ‘round the room like hootchy cootchy mamas,

‘Til we lie in a heap,

Her warm, perspired arms wrapped ‘round my skin ‘n bones,

Laughin’
'Til tears spill out an’ down our cheeks.

Momma wouldn’t approve,

So we don’t tell her.

There’s lots of

Stuff

We don’t tell momma,

But sometimes,

I think momma’d like to dance

An’ just “hang out”

Like Grandma.

I seen her open her shirt by the bathroom winda before

To let the cool breeze

Fill her up with a little smile.

But she don’t stand there fer long,

An’ she don’t smile much.

Grandma says,

“she’s a differnt kinda bird,”

Not like me

Or her, 
“Which is probly a good thang.”

Momma goes to church.

Grandma don’t,

But she knows a whole lotta that bible right by heart.

She keeps hers tucked inside the bedside table drawer

With a little silver flask,

Three pairs of glasses,

An old piece of lace wrapped ‘roun an old prickly stem,

An’ pieces of dried up petals,

An’ a picture of somebody I don’t know

In a uniform.

On the back it’s got writin,’

“Remember me when I am gone

I’ll be your dreams until the dawn

Though days may pass with me afar

My love is twinkling in the stars.

Forever yours, Henry XO”

I can’t ask Grandma ‘bout it

‘Cause I’m not supposed to be a nose-a-body.

Seen her lookin’ at it late at night, when I peek in 
Quiet like on my way to the bathroom.

Sometimes she’s talkin’ to it,

The picture,

Sometimes she just stares,

But every once in a while,

She’s all dressed up in that sequin-dy dress

Dancin’,

Holdin’ tight to that picture

Of a uniformed man

Who’s called Henry, XO.

In the mornin’ she’ll be back at the winda

Maybe, naked as a jay-bird

With her feet in those high up heels

Pinnin’ her privatey thangs to the wire

That runs ‘twixt the two tenements down on Lower South Side,

Near the river,

Where Grandma’s lived

Forever.

An’ where I am learnin’

The Unabridged an’

Naked truth

About Grandma.        

More of Dons Doodles to Enjoy - these complete the group I've selected for Lois and mom to put up at the library.

Doodles By Don

Doodles By Don

These are original ink drawings by Don Campbell, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Don Campbell resides in a residential care facility suffering from dementia in St. Petersburg, Florida. In his early years, he began doodling images when listening to philosophical, spiritual or other teachings. It kept him centered and allowed him to sit still during such moments, a lesson teachers might take when dealing with young minds that also can wander during class time. While doodling for some may take their mind from the lessons at hand, for others it helps them absorb and order what they are taking in.

My mother, a long time friend of the Campbells, was aware that Don doodled but had not been aware of how prolific and talented he was at such drawings until she was offered one of his works. I became aware a few years ago, when she pointed out that the drawing on her wall of two lovely figures was a work by Mr. Campbell.

Then, on a visit just recently, she asked me to look at a few of the drawings that have collected in the Florida garage over the years. I was completely amazed, first at the number of drawings and then at their unique beauty and quality.

His wife and family do not have the time nor the interest at this time to preserve and present the works, so I was asked if I'd like to help compile some for a local showing at the public library. I immediately said yes, and then realized the daunting responsibility I had just undertaken. Not really knowing the man and having only just recently seen any of his works, I was going to try to select from a random assortment of works, a collective representation of his "doodles". I was also shown a very brief selection of some of his writings, which served to direct me a little in my selection process, but after that it was strictly my own artistic eye and preference that prevailed. I am attempting to catalog the works and have begun the process for the family of archivally preserving the small works, averaging 6"x8", but they have a lot of work themselves getting the hundreds of slips of paper properly stored. I have suggested that they take copies of the artwork or a disc that I am making to a local gallery as well, where some may be shown during a First Friday event. I do hope that one of the local venues will see the value in sharing this St. Petersburg artist's work with the public. I think we've found a local treasure worth recognizing.

If you'd like to see more of Don's works, I will be posting the rest of the collection I currently have in another post. I can also be contacted at tjarticulates@gmail.com. I do not have permission to sell at this time, though we are working on that possibility with Don's wife. I am also working on the possibility of his signing more of the works and/or a limited number of prints. Please feel free to give positive feedback on the artwork. They are both fun and thought provoking, but don't try to take them too seriously. The artist certainly doesn't and didn't when he doodled them. They were a way of coping with sitting and listening. They were a process to ordering thoughts racing through his mind. Now they are for your enjoyment and pleasure.

Sincerely, Terri Miller

Blue Ridge, Georgia is a lovely little town tucked away in the corner of the state amidst foothill mountains, lakes, rivers and pastures. The Arts Guild sponsors various national exhibits and festivals which is what drew me to the area this past weekend, September 10 -12. My studio partner, Amanda, and daughter, Sara, joined me in the trip to experience the Blue Ridge Fall Plein Aire Festival, and to share time relaxing and enjoying the mountains.

Our first day out, we took our canvases and boards to the center for stamping, and picked up information sheets about the area. Then, we drove off to seek lovely vistas and inspiring views. A fellow artist suggested the Nottley Dam area before we left the center, so we began the drive in that direction. After some winding roads and querying of residents, we finally found a recreation/camping area on the lake where we were able to set up and take in the striking picture set by the green waters we'd been told would be there. The water levels were low due to drought, so the orange and peach colored sands and boulders of the lake were exposed on the shoreline which reaches out well beyond the normal levels for the lake. However, this added lovely warm hues against the verdant color of the lake waters, and the lush foliage lining the shores, and topping the small islands. The sky was in constant flux that day, ranging from threat of rain to bright filtered light and clouds providing a challenge for our artistic approach. This is what plein aire is about after all. We all worked in acrylics this day. The picture of the island and waters (at top) was my submission from the Nottley area outing.

The next day, we wound through the mountains snapping photos and trying to find that perfect spot. The skies were bright and it looked promising. Again, we were challenged by the maps and markers for area recreation areas, but finally found a spot along the Toccoa where tubers were floating through and canoes and kayaks could put in. We had all worn bathing suits in hopes of cooling off during the outing, so we were glad to find a good spot for both painting and water play. Sara successfully braved the running waters to get to a large rock across the river. Amanda wandered up and down the banks taking pictures and looking for her spot, while I chose a large flat rock just a few feet into the waters where I placed my chair, balanced my pastel board and box of supplies precariously above the running waters. We all took a respite playing in the water a bit and then got to drawing and painting. This was only my second attempt at plein aire painting with the first workshop leaving me feeling less than enthusiastic about landscapes. However, the Toccoa river seemed to speak in a language that I could understand and the picture above, bottom, was the result of my experience. The challenge for the day was getting the picture laid down before a large thunderstorm rolled in. I was snapping photos as the first droplets fell.

Sara and I left two paintings each at the Blue Ridge Arts Center where they can be viewed during the rest of this month and first few days of October. There were several lovely paintings coming in as we left, so I encourage anyone in the area to stop by the center. It is worth the visit with many lovely exhibits and shows in the historic building.

In addition, I'd like to add a plug for the cabin we stayed in during the weekend. It is called the Dragonfly Cabin and is a lovely out of the way cabin in the mountains just south of Blue Ridge. It is a challenge for your car a short bit of the way, but worth it once there. Nice amenities, quiet and secluded. Just the right place for relaxing and getting away from life's maddening moments.