Andrew's Stories When I was little I called my grandma Sylvia, "Gammy" (rhymes with mommy). Now everyone in my family calls her that. I have some fond memories of her house, mostly of times when I was alone in the house or when Gammy was napping. Those are the times I got to explore and take notice of the place. Some of my favorite memories of the house are about sliding in my socks down the hallway from the kitchen to the front door. It was always so slippery. I also liked to slide in the den but I worried about splinters so I couldn't go full speed. As a kid I liked to pretend to fall down the stairs. Not for other people to see—just to get the sensation of falling and tumbling down the stairs. The stairs at Gammy's house are steep and narrow but the carpeting is very soft. I had a favorite bit from Sesame Street where this baker would come out and present his freshly baked, beautiful pies and (if the number of the day was four) he would exclaim, "Four coconut cream pies!" and then slip and fall down a huge staircase spilling the pies and getting it all over himself. I would stand 5 or 6 stairs up and exclaim ,"Four Coconut cream pies!" and then tumble down the stairs. I probably did this at home, but I only remember it at her house. Another favorite memory about the house is that in the tiny bathroom downstairs there was this amazing fuzzy wallpaper. It had a flower design but the flower petals were outlined in a red, fuzzy, velvety texture. I'm sure it was expensive and probably very chic at the time but my memory was always more of being overwhelmed by it. The bathroom is very small and the large fuzzy flowers seemed a bit much. However it made a very strong impression on me and even though that wallpaper has been gone for quite some time, I still expect to see it when I visit and I miss it. There is a drawer in the kitchen next to the sink, 2nd one down, where Gammy used to keep the "good stuff." This was the drawer where she kept the Malomars and chocolate bars. I can still see the sneaky grin on Gammy's face like she was letting me in on some great secret and motioning for me to follow her into the kitchen, where she would open the drawer and pull out one of those 1 pound Cadbury bars and she break us each off a small piece and wrap the rest up and put it back. I could never understand how she had such will power. One of my strongest memories of my grandmother is the way she sits sideways on the sofa in the den to do the crossword puzzle and to close her eyes and take a nap. She is one of those people who can close her eyes for ten minutes and actually nap. I don't know how many times I have been sitting at the table in the den playing solitaire and I look over to see her sitting on that sofa taking a nap or doing the crossword puzzle. When we were kids, you could not find Entenman's cakes, brownies, coffee cakes etc. in Kansas City, where we live. (You can now.) But we loved them so much that when we would visit Gammy, she would send us home with a bunch. I always had to leave room in my carry on bag so I could bring a few home. I had to be very careful not to smoosh them in the overhead bins. I felt like I was smuggling some exotic contraband into the heartland and that my friends in Kansas City wouldn't understand. I wasn't about to share it with them, so they might never know about this delecious product. Now, like most things, they are in every supermarket and the thrill has worn off. Another food that you can't get in KC are bialys (a garlicky, oniony, cross between a bagel and an english muffin). Part of a visit to Gammy's house is the ritual of biyalis toasted and sliced with whipped cream cheese. (I guess you can get whipped cream cheese in Kansas City but I don't. It remains a special treat at Gammy's house.) She does not toast them open faced. She puts them frozen in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 10–15 minutes. She has done it this way for the past 30 or so years that I can remember. What's amazing is that she never forgets them. In all this time I can't remember her ever burning one. The really unique part of the ritual, though, is the little wicker baskets that Gammy serves them in and the little wooden spreaders that have no other use but to spread cream cheese. Gammy also always has crab meat salad to go with the bialys and I usually have a little, but I am a purist. The bialy with whipped cheese is close to culinary perfection just the way it is. Gammy has some wicker placemats that go on the round table in the den. They have a special smell as does the table. It is an unusual wood with worm holes in it. Those two smells together are kind of earthy and woody and aromatic. It is a smell that I only associate with meals and card games at her house.