THERE'S A CALL FOR YOU

Excerpted from Chapter 3 in

Kitchen Talk ©2014 by Sharon Mark Cohen

To keep us entertained and allow the adults to engage in some private “kitchen talk,” immediately as we walked through the door, Aunt Fannie habitually placed a 33-vinyl record on the Victrola. The familiar tune from Classic Disney of Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo by Cinderella pleasingly rang out. The silly words were easy to find today with a quick Google search.

Similarly, as Solly walks into our familiar house, she chimes, “Knick Knack Paddy Whack, Give the Dog a Bone.”

After reviewing the instruments in the YouTube video on the computer with her, this new grandma thought to turn around and show Solly her aunt Rina’s piano. From then on, she continually asked to return to the piano and play, or bang on the keys, all day.

When she got home, her daddy asked her what she did at Grandma’s house, and she said, “Play piano.” That will probably be as memorable as Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo at my aunt’s apartment is for me.

In this fast-paced world, will it be? Hopefully, her socialization skills will be unhampered by technology. When it comes to schmoozing, having my aunt in the kitchen every week during my childhood and adolescence served me well. (See Kitchen Talk Brings Family to Life, May 4, 2021 at: https://www.sharonmarkcohen.com/blog/2021/2/8/fa786pcqrn649c27rrcif5l9bthbja).

My mother didn’t sit relaxed next to her sister-in-law, peering down at gadgets in their hands for communication. They looked eye to eye and spoke as my mother continued with her food preparations. The conversations were endless and gave me a love for family history.

Solly on Grandma’s lap, holding Ernie and watching Knick Knack Paddy Whack on Grandma’s computer February 18, 2021

Solly holding bunny and playing Aunt Rina’s piano February 11, 2021