Paper Parasols and Alcohol - a MarillaAnne Memoir -Five Minute Freewrite

in #freewrite6 years ago (edited)

A little memory: Little paper Japanese parasols twirling between my fingers. Maybe I was 7.

My maternal grandmother always kept these on hand for my dolls. I don't know where she bought them. I do remember how I know they were not collected from drinks.

My grandparents were telling me, at around 11 years old, about a dinner they had attended with another couple.

Grandmother (with disdain): She ordered a cocktail ...
Me: What's a cocktail?

Grandmother: It's a drink. Her's was served with shrimp. She thought she was all hoity toity (I have no idea how to spell this. It means she thought herself to be so fabulous.)
Me: What's shrimp?

Grandmother: It's a little fish like thing from the ocean.
Me: What's wrong with shrimp?
(Oh what I know now and they did not know then. The short of it, don't eat the ocean's filters but that's another day's story.)

My Grandfather: Oh Elise, there's no point in beating around about this. She's plenty old enough to know.
My Grandfather: A cocktail is a drink that has alcohol in it.
Me: What's alcohol?

My Grandfather (laughing): It's a drink that can make people drunk, and makes people silly and they tend to make bad decisions when they drink it.
Me: Oh, like beer? (what my dad's brothers drank)

My Grandfather: Yes beer has alcohol in it.
Me: Ok.

And off the conversation went to discuss her scandalous dress. My grandfather let go of a sigh and left the room.

Later in life I figured out that a shrimp cocktail doesn't have alcohol...and it's not a drink. Obviously something got lost in translation. Like Bigly!

Well that's a little further than five minutes. Maybe sometime I'll tell about the parasols, the toy mailbox, and letters from my first grade teacher.

This freewrite prompt was provided by @mariannewest for Wednesday May 9th. I used it today.

The art is my slightly modified version of Umbrella Art Abstract by ractapopulous on pixabay.com

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Thanks for your sharing @marillaane have enjoy Weekend

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