My diary - January 4-6, 1973
- Susan Fisch Good
- Jan 2
- 2 min read
January 4, 1973, Thurs.
Dear Smiley:
I just washed my hair cause we all thought we were going to Dadeland well it ended up that we went to the airport. We got on United & we made it to Cleveland at 4:15. Aunt Helen picked us up & took us to hospital to see Mary well she was at Manners & I walk up to her & she didn’t even reconize me. Well we went to Grandmas. We thought that Uncle Norm was here so we ran in & guess who it was! Aunt Angela!! Kay & Larry came over & Jim & Mary Beth. Frisk Grandma’s dog jumped on David he thought Dave was a girl dog.
BYE!!!
Note: Instead of going to the Dadeland Mall, we went to the airport. We always held our breath when we flew standby, but fortunately, we made it on the direct flight from Miami to Cleveland. What a relief to be with our grandparents in Ohio.
Mary, my cousin, was in nursing school, and her mom, my Aunt Helen, wanted to surprise her. The surprise was on us as she wasn’t at the hospital but at Manner’s, a popular restaurant in Ohio. Also known as Manner’s Big Boy, they were famous for the original double-decker burger (allegedly McDonald’s copied it with the Big Mac).
I walked up to her, and she didn’t recognize me, probably because of my short hair and her not expecting me. Fun!
Lots of family came over to see us.
We had never met Frisk, the dog, but he obviously liked my brother, haha!
Has anyone been to a Manner's Big Boy restaurant? I remember them having the best hot fudge sundaes!
January 5, 1973, Fri.
Dear Smiley:
Today is Grandma Fisch’s anniversary. We light lite her a candle. Mom took Grandma & Grandpa to a funeral. Father Botzman came over & talked to us kids & then to Mom when they came home. Watched T.V. It snowed today. 1st time we have seen snow fall. Had a small snow ball fight. Talked to Mary.
Freezing us here!
BYE!!!
Note: Grandma Fisch had died in our home in Nicaragua about 5 years earlier. It was nice to light a candle in her memory.
Father Botzman was one of our favorite priests. He came over to counsel us as we had been through trauma. My brother remembers him saying it was okay to question our faith and to ask questions.
We had never seen snow, so this was a thrill.
January 6, 1973 Sat.
Dear Smiley:
Its snowing harder. I washed my hair & rolled it, but my hair is flat & straight here just the opposite in Nic. Mom went to super & most have bought it all out; left it naked. Watched T.V. Went out in snow! Freezing. Had a snow ball fight. Talked to Missy. Hip-Hip-HURRAH. We went to Mass. Watched T.V. Frisk sat on my lap.
BYE!!!
Note: Lots of adjustments, my hair included, no longer curly with the cold weather.
I always got my idioms mixed up, saying "she left the store naked" instead of "she bought out the store." I still do!
Shoney's Big Boy restaurants or Bob's big boy restaurants - all similar I guess, but a good hot fudge sundae is what counts! 😀 How awful that your Mom's mom died in your home in Nicaragua ( I'm assuming she was your mom's mom ). How exciting for you to experience the snow, not just see it. However, its not a surprise you had to check it out! More adventures 🙂 Debbie M
Susie you bring out so many memories! Yes, got introduced to Big Boy burgers in Traverse City Michigan - delicious! Having spent my first 12 years in Mexico and there only seeing the snow capped volcano Popocatépetl from a distance then moving to Nicaragua, I had no real snow experience. Going to a boarding prep schoolin, the early 1960's, near Glen Arbor Michigan changed all of that!
As you know Susie we were so pampered in Nica - then suddenly being made to walk along lake Michigan for each meal and class sometimes with ten foot snowbanks was surreal! The first moment that I saw a snowflake I was playing field hockey and stopped in the middle of the gam…
We had several Kip's Big Boy's in Dallas; by the late '80's I think most had closed. A few of them weren't in the best part of town, and I remember in the news when their mascots kept getting stolen.
RE: Snow. After moving back to KC for a year, we were visited for a few days by a Costa Rican family whose Dad had worked with my Dad, and whose 2 young boys had never seen snow. It was during December and we'd just had a bad ice storm. Upon their leaving, Dad apologized for the bad weather, and the younger boy, in all seriousness said "that's ok, we like your glass trees!"
(áboles de cristal).
Your "mixed idioms"…
Yep, as I thought, Shoney's Big Boy! And they have great hot fudge cakes. Sounds like the same!
I’m sure your sweet mother would have gotten a real laugh out of your describing her naked departure from the store!