An ‘Ugly Girl with a Big Mouth’

My grandma used to joke that she was an ugly girl with a big mouth. She wasn’t ugly, but she loved to talk. Every time I visited her home, a few neighbors would either already be there or stop for a visit. During the visits, the phone would constantly ring. People called from as close as a couple of blocks away or as far as the Philippines. Up until ten years ago, Grandma had a black rotary phone in her kitchen. After that, she had a phone with big buttons for the visually impaired.

Grandma never had a cell phone. She never had a Facebook or Twitter account. Grandma never had the internet. What she had was a bunch of friends and family wanting to talk to her on the phone for five — 120 minutes a day.

My grandma passed away late Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, at age 94. My mom called my house phone Saturday morning with the news. I have a land line still because Grandma could remember that number better than my cell phone number.

Within hours, one of my cousins posted a picture of her and him from 2011 on his Facebook page to spread the news. Later, my husband did a quick post on his Facebook page. On Sunday, my older brother and one of my older sisters posted their thoughts. Potentially, 1,670 of their “friends” may read these posts, of which at least 30 of them are mutual friends or family.

Meanwhile, my mom, my aunt, and another cousin (who is their first cousin) spent Saturday calling family members. On Sunday, I suggested that they find Grandma’s address book. Her friends probably will exceed the number of the abovementioned Facebook “friends.”