Every year, I assigned my students to interview the oldest person in their families that they could take with face to face. They were to learn the Important Things about their lives and then write an essay about them.
Hear, hear, Lucy!! Old people are treated like subhuman beings in today’s society. Here is an example. Notice how Joe Biden is regarded with contempt because he is old? This is NOT a political observation. I do not live in America, and I know absolutely nothing about Joe Biden or his politics, or politics in general. All I’m saying is that when people criticize him, they bring his age into it, as though the fact of him being old is disgusting and an outrage – they use “old” as an insult which prefaces whatever else they may (rightly or wrongly) be saying about him. How would another person of his years feel when reading comments such as that? Again, this observation of mine has nothing to do with politics – I am giving an example of everyday ageism, and how “old = unattractive” in the minds of so many people.
There’s a saying that goes something like, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.” That quote easily should apply to old women, as well. To paraphrase Roy Batty, “All that knowledge is lost, like tears in rain.”
My great -aunt was an adventurer. Went to China in the 30s to teach but was taken captive by the Japanese when they invaded. Spent the next several years in an internment camp till she was released in a prisoner exchange. When she got home, she wrote several scholarly articles about it.
My kids kind of got ripped, their papa’s mom died when they were very little, my dad died before they were born, my mom was nuts/abusive, so that left them with their papa’s dad! We all loved him and he live into his 90s.
I wish I could do that, sweetie, but, alas, my grandmother’s all died before I was born. I wish I had had your presence of mind to ask questions of my one grandfather. Or, even, my mother, though she shared much of her life over the course of our being together.
Lucy and her granny must be very close. After all, why else would she take her not showing up during the holidays so personally and try to better herself in time for New Year’s Eve, so she’ll come visit more often? Auld Lang Syne really taught us a lot about their loving relationship.
My grandfather worked in the war industry, I’m English, and he was in and survived the destruction of Coventry.
My grandmother and mother were evacuated from london to York in the north, but found the people there so unfriendly my grandmother went back to london and rode out the blitz.
Yup she’d rather face German bombers than stay in York.
My Great Grandma became a widow at 32 with 7 children to support (my grandma was 12, she was the oldest). Great Grandma took her children from Kansas City to Baca County Colorado by covered wagon, and homesteaded by herself. She lived to be 96. WHAT A WONDERFUL WOMAN.
One time I wrote a paper about my father. I wrote how he carried a rifle through the woods to get to his bus stop for school. The teacher thought I had written “knife” but forgot the “k”, and “corrected” the spelling. I tried to explain to her but she refused to believe that a kid needed to carry a rifle. She was a young teacher and most of the kids in my class were the oldest in their families, so she couldn’t get that MY dad was born in 1929.
My grandmother helped raise 16 younger siblings, a usual thing for oldest females. This was before both world wars! She also helped raise me! Loved her so much ;)
The earliest signs of Alzheimer’s appeared in my grandmother when I was in the ninth grade, and the disease’s progression coincided more or less with the end of my childhood. So I became mature enough really to appreciate her wisdom and life experience at just about the exact moment that she was no longer able to share them. It makes me very sad thinking about that.
This is kind of a long story, but that strip made me think of it.
A few years ago when I was cleaning out my parents’ house after they passed away, I found a box of my great uncle’s correspondence (he had passed away decades before). Mixed in with rather mundane items was a 10-page handwritten letter from 1907 written on letterhead identifying the writer as the editor and publisher of a small South Dakota newspaper. The most interesting thing about that is that the writer was a woman! I thought, How amazing that a woman had a job like that at the turn of the previous century.
In the letter, she wrote about her work, people she knew who were getting married (and wondered if she ever would), and her previous “sweethearts.” I became curious about her life and found her on Ancestry. It turns out that she did marry, and I found her granddaughter (now a senior citizen), and was able to send the letter to her. She told me that reading about her grandmother’s life as a young woman in her own words was such a gift.
Someday, they’ll make a movie of her story. Unfortunately, the marketing department will recommend recasting the role with a popular white male actor in response to backlash for casting a female lead in the last movie they released which underperformed at the box office.
Also, some tweaks to the script will change the story so now it’s about a guy who couldn’t go to war because of cancer or something and instead single-handedly convinced women to work in the plants in the first place. “Based on a true story.”
I knew that Grandma was more than peanut butter cookies.She worked in the test kitchens for The Edison Company in Chicago.She could bake all manner of goodies.She had started there during the depression, after her husband(my Mother’s father) died. My Mom was the oldest of,5 kids.All my Grand parents were born in Germany, and came to America at different ages.
My grandmother was a WASP. She taught me and several my cousins to fly. My wife prefers to be a passenger, but I started teaching the girls when they were big enough to reach the controls. Another generation in the air. Clear skies Gramma. Clear skies.
ronaldspence about 1 year ago
well said Lucy! Crabbiness is optional though!
Wilde Bill about 1 year ago
In fact, her grandmother wrote this for her.
Deleted Account2623 about 1 year ago
Not gonna lie, Lucy’s report deserves an A grade
mccollunsky about 1 year ago
Great report, great finish, Lucy.
Uncle Kenny about 1 year ago
Every year, I assigned my students to interview the oldest person in their families that they could take with face to face. They were to learn the Important Things about their lives and then write an essay about them.
c001 about 1 year ago
Mine surely did.
Hazelnut King about 1 year ago
Hear, hear, Lucy!! Old people are treated like subhuman beings in today’s society. Here is an example. Notice how Joe Biden is regarded with contempt because he is old? This is NOT a political observation. I do not live in America, and I know absolutely nothing about Joe Biden or his politics, or politics in general. All I’m saying is that when people criticize him, they bring his age into it, as though the fact of him being old is disgusting and an outrage – they use “old” as an insult which prefaces whatever else they may (rightly or wrongly) be saying about him. How would another person of his years feel when reading comments such as that? Again, this observation of mine has nothing to do with politics – I am giving an example of everyday ageism, and how “old = unattractive” in the minds of so many people.
Indiana Guy Premium Member about 1 year ago
There’s a saying that goes something like, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.” That quote easily should apply to old women, as well. To paraphrase Roy Batty, “All that knowledge is lost, like tears in rain.”
cdward about 1 year ago
This may be Lucy’s finest moment.
cdward about 1 year ago
My great -aunt was an adventurer. Went to China in the 30s to teach but was taken captive by the Japanese when they invaded. Spent the next several years in an internment camp till she was released in a prisoner exchange. When she got home, she wrote several scholarly articles about it.
GerryRoss about 1 year ago
Well said, Ms. Van Pelt!
Purple People Eater about 1 year ago
How much do peanut butter cookies know?
Darryl Heine about 1 year ago
My grandmother passed away in 1992.
kaycstamper about 1 year ago
My kids kind of got ripped, their papa’s mom died when they were very little, my dad died before they were born, my mom was nuts/abusive, so that left them with their papa’s dad! We all loved him and he live into his 90s.
jagedlo about 1 year ago
I see yesterday’s kid vanished back into the vortex of obscurity…
The Orange Mailman about 1 year ago
Applause for my Grandmother! And all of yours too.
preacherman Premium Member about 1 year ago
I wish I could do that, sweetie, but, alas, my grandmother’s all died before I was born. I wish I had had your presence of mind to ask questions of my one grandfather. Or, even, my mother, though she shared much of her life over the course of our being together.
Ellis97 about 1 year ago
Lucy and her granny must be very close. After all, why else would she take her not showing up during the holidays so personally and try to better herself in time for New Year’s Eve, so she’ll come visit more often? Auld Lang Syne really taught us a lot about their loving relationship.
steveconkey2003 about 1 year ago
Sound advice.
Just-me about 1 year ago
We really do owe a debt of gratitude to the women, during WW2 entered the workforce and kept the nation running and producing.
Wizard of Ahz-no relation about 1 year ago
My grandfather worked in the war industry, I’m English, and he was in and survived the destruction of Coventry.
My grandmother and mother were evacuated from london to York in the north, but found the people there so unfriendly my grandmother went back to london and rode out the blitz.
Yup she’d rather face German bombers than stay in York.
SusieB about 1 year ago
Very excellent advice Lucy
More Coffee Please! Premium Member about 1 year ago
I’ve liked this story arc a lot!
walt1968pat Premium Member about 1 year ago
My Great Grandma became a widow at 32 with 7 children to support (my grandma was 12, she was the oldest). Great Grandma took her children from Kansas City to Baca County Colorado by covered wagon, and homesteaded by herself. She lived to be 96. WHAT A WONDERFUL WOMAN.
mindjob about 1 year ago
This is why everyone should write memoirs, in case there is nobody to tell their story to
Wren Fahel about 1 year ago
One time I wrote a paper about my father. I wrote how he carried a rifle through the woods to get to his bus stop for school. The teacher thought I had written “knife” but forgot the “k”, and “corrected” the spelling. I tried to explain to her but she refused to believe that a kid needed to carry a rifle. She was a young teacher and most of the kids in my class were the oldest in their families, so she couldn’t get that MY dad was born in 1929.
sarahbowl1 Premium Member about 1 year ago
My grandmother helped raise 16 younger siblings, a usual thing for oldest females. This was before both world wars! She also helped raise me! Loved her so much ;)
Tetonbil about 1 year ago
Wow! Bravo Lucy! Well spoke!
mrwiskers about 1 year ago
I never knew my grandparents on either side and I never met my mother or father.
Maester Brow Premium Member about 1 year ago
Ask today and you might learn that granny was at Woodstock but got censored out of the film!
wi3leong Premium Member about 1 year ago
Charles Schulz, feminist. Not a common thing in Peanuts.
Amra Leo about 1 year ago
Well done, Lucy!
John Jorgensen about 1 year ago
The earliest signs of Alzheimer’s appeared in my grandmother when I was in the ninth grade, and the disease’s progression coincided more or less with the end of my childhood. So I became mature enough really to appreciate her wisdom and life experience at just about the exact moment that she was no longer able to share them. It makes me very sad thinking about that.
BamCat about 1 year ago
This is kind of a long story, but that strip made me think of it.
A few years ago when I was cleaning out my parents’ house after they passed away, I found a box of my great uncle’s correspondence (he had passed away decades before). Mixed in with rather mundane items was a 10-page handwritten letter from 1907 written on letterhead identifying the writer as the editor and publisher of a small South Dakota newspaper. The most interesting thing about that is that the writer was a woman! I thought, How amazing that a woman had a job like that at the turn of the previous century.
In the letter, she wrote about her work, people she knew who were getting married (and wondered if she ever would), and her previous “sweethearts.” I became curious about her life and found her on Ancestry. It turns out that she did marry, and I found her granddaughter (now a senior citizen), and was able to send the letter to her. She told me that reading about her grandmother’s life as a young woman in her own words was such a gift.
pripley about 1 year ago
Is this close in time to Lucy’s lecture about telephone poles being special trees developed by The Phone Company?
Aficionado about 1 year ago
Wow! Perhaps the most profound comic strip of all time.
raybarb44 about 1 year ago
Good closing in your speech…..
Decepticomic about 1 year ago
Someday, they’ll make a movie of her story. Unfortunately, the marketing department will recommend recasting the role with a popular white male actor in response to backlash for casting a female lead in the last movie they released which underperformed at the box office.
Also, some tweaks to the script will change the story so now it’s about a guy who couldn’t go to war because of cancer or something and instead single-handedly convinced women to work in the plants in the first place. “Based on a true story.”
christelisbetty about 1 year ago
I knew that Grandma was more than peanut butter cookies.She worked in the test kitchens for The Edison Company in Chicago.She could bake all manner of goodies.She had started there during the depression, after her husband(my Mother’s father) died. My Mom was the oldest of,5 kids.All my Grand parents were born in Germany, and came to America at different ages.
eced52 about 1 year ago
All WW2 women knew survival skills that would make a Marine sit up and take notice.
eddi-TBH about 1 year ago
I applaud Lucy’s presentation. And Mr. Schultz’s choice of topic.
sisterea about 1 year ago
Amen Lucy, Amen
Otis Rufus Driftwood about 1 year ago
Lucy’s grandmother sounds cool.
Teto85 Premium Member about 1 year ago
My grandmother was a WASP. She taught me and several my cousins to fly. My wife prefers to be a passenger, but I started teaching the girls when they were big enough to reach the controls. Another generation in the air. Clear skies Gramma. Clear skies.
lindz.coop Premium Member about 1 year ago
So true…I used to assign an interview of an elderly person to my students…they had some real surprises.