This month I lost my beloved Grandmother, Louise. She was 96-years-old at the time of her death and lived a very long and happy life, so I don’t think I’ll be too sad.
My Grandfather, Wilfred, died a few years earlier. I have fond memories visiting my grandparents in Massachusetts. One time, when I was about 8-years-old, when we came to visit there was a “clam bake” planned for the next day. Early that morning, my grandpa asked me if I wanted to feed the clams. Intrigued, I followed him down to their basement or cellar as they called it.
He explained we must be very quiet or we’ll scare them. He slowly opened the refrigerator door and in it was a large tray of clams, their shells open and feeding on cornmeal. As he sprinkled more cornmeal over the clams, I asked “why are you feeding them if you’re just going to eat them?”
“When the clams eat the cornmeal it helps move what’s inside them to the outside, such as sand, you don’t want to eat that do you?” he asked.
The next day, as I was eating the clams I noticed inside each clam was a tinny ball of cornbread, and no sand! That experience amazed me, but the memory was not as amazing as my grandparents.
You will be missed, but not forgotten.
