Street Smarts Is A Good Thing!

I'm with you Frank, had my Grandson last summer, he's 10, his Grandmother is a hair dresser, got her to give him a Mohawk which he thought was cool beyond belief. Gave him his own Cob, of course no tobbaco. Took him to Evangeline Downs horse track, showed him how to place a bet, hey he won a little money betting on Cool Horse names. He learned how to drive my big tractor, piss off the porch, hitting the cat. These are things young men need to know. He goes to Catholic School and Daughter was not impressed with Mohawk and his betting abilities , so he got a Buzz cut to go to school. Didn't have him this summer, I"m wondering why. ::

This is good stuff. I need to keep all these things in mind whenever I have Grandkids.

A little "trouble" under supervision prepares us for the trouble we will surely encounter when we go out on our own. I would guess that few if any of the gunmen in criminal shoot-ups learned firearms from their dads. Once Dad has supervised you, he's always there, even when he's gone. And he don't want no crapping around. The grandkids will appreciate these skills and insights. They'll know when to decline when someone wants to "teach" them a new game of poker. And you rarely hit more than one race at the track, so keep enough for train fare home.

My brother and his wife tried scolding me and my wife for taking my nephew to Hooter's. He was 11yrs old and loved it. They also don't like my parents . We don't get to see the kids anymore.

voorhees, oh, big mistake on their part. The benefit of extended family is to step outside the immediate family circle and get a wider perspective. Maybe they'll come around when they see the kids a'roving on their own.

I taught my nephew how to play poker when he was a kid. It proved to be a useful talent. That's how he made money while he was in high school.

Beautiful story. I'd remind her dad that playing craps is the safer way to earn money in college.

When I was a teenager , Mom let me use the car to go to Mass, she went at the crack of dawn, Dad was out shrimping. I would leave for Mass, go shoot pool, pass and get the pamphlets in back of Church. Fast Forward 30 yrs, Mom said I know you were at the Pool Hall, I said who pimped on me, she laughed and said ( The chalk dust on your jeans told me ). Youth is wasted on the Youth. :laughat:

It was my beloved grandmother who taught me to play poker at age 5 and how to perfectly mix her martinis for her at age 10. She was very particular about her martini's... fill glass with gin, waft of fumes of vermouth only, lemon zest, and "crinkled" ice on the side... of which she floated an occasional chip on the drink. She was nearly totally deaf but could read lips so that you could hardly tell... my sister and I swore she could read them in mirrors or reflections when you were facing away from her. She loved laughing, and partying, cards, travel, and hanging out with her loved ones. We loved it when she came to baby-sit us... mom and dad would head out or off and Gramma would turn off her hearing aid and say "Have at it"... and we'd crank all noise makers up to max and exhaust ourselves in it (things that normally were NEVER allowed when my father was home) whilst she calmly and contentedly read a book. She grew up in Billings, Montana when it was still pretty much wild west... I don't know for sure if she could shoot, but I'd bet in a pinch, it would have been no problem. She's been gone a long time now... miss her still... and I'm an old man. ::

If it weren't for grandparents most kids would never grow up with the necessary skills to survive. It's the grandparent's job.

Both of my grandfathers were of the "proper English" sort. Well liked in the small town they were from. Straight laced and of a gentlemanly sort.

My paternal grandfather taught me more of his actions than of his words , God and country along with community. While lately I have been rather ashamed of our people running our country my love of God was installed by him along with honesty above all else, even if be to my detriment.
I miss him greatly!

My buddy's little boy was learning to talk and his favorite toy was a small toy truck. Well he would constantly refer to it as his "Uck", so me being the stand-up uncle type would say "FFFF" then hold up the toy and he would say "Uck"...... This went on for a few week until my buddy's wife told me that the first time he says the whole thing she's beating me with a frying pan...... I smiled and said "Worth it!"

What connects book smarts and street smarts? Literature.
Or at least, it did.