CATS UNDER ALL THE BEDS

Betty tells the story of visiting Steve’s family for the first time. She had told me that the Sunday newspaper was all over the living room.  Betty’s mom, Helen Jondle, was a fastidious housekeeper, so such a mess would never have been allowed in the Jondle house.

A few years ago I asked my brother Jim if he had any memories of our grandparents.  Jim recalled visiting the Jondle’s house – they were not allowed in the living room – only the kitchen.  He thinks he may have snuck into the living room just to see what was so special in there.  He said grandma was strict and did not speak English.  He said that Grandpa had a Pontiac that he kept in perfect condition. It was in the garage and with the curtains closed to protect the paint.

My sister Pauline had a similar impression. She wrote, “We could not go in the living room because she did not want it to get dirty. She was very neat and fussy.”

Having been raised in an overly tidy house may explain Betty’s reaction to the “strange” Miklo house.  Here is the story in Betty’s words:

“ . . . that’s where they lived.  That was the USG road out there.  Daddy’s folks lived in one of those houses.  Mary, she was the older girl, she was the oldest and then there was Annie after that.  Mary was older than I am and Annie was just a little younger.

Mary was a cat lover; she would pick up all the stray cats and bring them in.

The first time your father brought me over there, I was kind of sitting there in the living room and I had never met the old man before.  Oh, God, did I think they were strange people.  He knew that Mary had the cats in the house, he stomped his feet and he yelled, loud, and the cats came running out from under all the beds.

That was my first impression of those people.  Oh, geez.  Under all the beds, the cats were running out.  He hated them damn cats and she brought them right back in.  Oh, what a strange bunch.”