Living with Grandpa, Part I

I will precede this entry with a statement about my grandfather: I do love and care for him very much. But, just as any roommate can become  annoying over time, an elderly one has an even higher tendency to be bothersome.

For the summer, I am living with my grandpa (Dad’s side of the family) in Great Neck, Long Island. Contrary to what my friend Catherine thought, I did not simply Google “safe places for Jews to live in New York” and then voila, I moved to Great Neck. My Dad grew up in Great Neck and his parent’s never left. So, when I was trying to decide on where to live this summer, I had a few options: a $400 a month apartment in Brooklyn (great deal, I know), with a hour commute into the city; free stay with my Aunt (who is a pastry chef) in Rockaway with an hour and a half commute; or, free stay with my Grandpa in Great Neck, with only a half our train ride into the city… Although the idea of homemade pastries every day is quite tempting, the long commute negated that (and let’s be honest, I don’t need those extra calories). Brooklyn would be fun, but a much longer distance from work. Great Neck fit just right; although there is no real scene for young people here, I have my own bedroom and bathroom, complete with an air conditioner and a full size bed. Did I mention I get to stay here for free? (Oh and my Aunt does stop by to check on Grandpa, and when she comes, she always leaves us food!)

                Now, although the set-up I have is pretty awesome, I am still living with my 88 year-old grandfather, who daily provides me with a new story to tell my family. For now, I will just tell you a couple. First off, my parents bought me a TV to put in my room, but I was waiting for Verizon to send me a cable box. In the meantime, I took the cable box out of the kitchen (A small 1999 box TV sat on top, which I may mention, my Grandpa only watched when eating meals) to use until mine arrived. I told Grandpa that once my cable box arrived, I would hook the kitchen back up; I will also note, that he has a large plasma screen in the living room, which is where he spends his days, watching movies that he rents from the local library. Well, it took a few days for my new box to arrive, but every single day he asked me when I was going to fix the kitchen TV! Seriously? It is a 8 inch screen, and you watch it for all of the 15 minutes it takes you to eat a meal! Well, his questioning progressed, and one morning, as I was about to leave for work, I looked up at the grocery list, and what do you ask was number 6? Well, he had written in: 6) “Fix (?) Kitchen T.V.” Needless to say, when my new cable box arrived that day, the first thing he told me as I walked in the door from work was that he put the box in my room and that I could now fix the kitchen TV.

                I will also note, that I am now a handyman as I have learned the trade of installing TV’s and changing doorknobs (I put a lock on my bedroom door because Grandpa tends to snoop, which is a whole different story…)

                I will try to make this next tale a bit shorter, since that last one took a lot of explaining. When I moved into the apartment, I made a point of cleaning out the fridge (I’m a bit of a germ freak). Aside from throwing out 6 containers of moldy food, I also discovered a jar of jelly from 2003… Last weekend, I went to Magnolia Bakery (yes the one from Sex and the City) and bought their delicious banana pudding. I didn’t finish the whole cup of it, so I brought the rest back home. I made a point of placing this coveted dessert all the way in the back of the fridge. Well, it appears that although my Grandfather cannot seem to notice the moldy months old food in front of his face, he can seem to find my $5 banana pudding, and finish it without even asking. I was, to say the least, a bit upset.

                Okay, that’s enough venting for now. And as always, if you are in NYC, let me know!