On June 14, my grandpa turned 88. When I asked how it felt, he said: Just like yesterday. Besides, 8+8=16 and that's how I always feel. Grandpa really is a miracle. He and my grandma (87) went to Tunisia on Friday and are going to the Canary Islands later on this summer. They have already been to France and Egypt this year and I am sure they are already scheming where to spend the winter holidays. Living by the moto - When you're our age, everything and anything is allowed - they really are an unstoppable couple. Grandpa also uses a GPS device, a smart-phone, a Facebook account, a synthesizer which he connects to a computer program through which he learns how to play, and many other gadgets too sophisticated for me to comprehend. As the years go by, he keeps getting smarter and I can see his French and English improve by the day. Every time I see him, he tells me about something he has learned browsing the internet and, more often than not, it is stuff that I have never even heard of.
Grandma is special in her own ways. Very stubborn, very opinionated, very strict. Although today she uses her age as an excuse, I really think she always thought she was allowed to do anything. Raised in a bourgeois family, she would steal skis and other expensive goods from her own household to donate for the Partisans, then a guerrilla force fighting for liberation from the Nazi's. Grandma sometimes brags in a nonchalant tone about her contributions to WWII resistance as a medical worker. She traveled on foot and on horse with her own group of all-male Partisans from Belgrade to Zagreb through wilderness and forests. She entered Zagreb on a horse, on the very day that it was liberated, surrounded by the boys that she had been taking care of. Although she supported the communists when it was very dangerous to do so, Grandma left the Communist Party in disappointment when not supporting them was dangerous. Ever since, she has been very used to disagreeing with the world and I think she overcomes it all by being convinced that she is always right.
One hot summer in the mid 50's, Grandpa was riding around with his motorcycle buddies when he noticed Grandma. She was the only girl in Belgrade to ride a motorcycle at the time and techie Grandpa couldn't help but notice that it was a nice one too. Decades after they had fallen for each other so unconventionally, they have decelerated to a more predictable life. Regardless of their plentiful travel, they do have to comply with some rules - lunch is at 12:30, nap time is from 2:00-4:00, dinner is at 6:00, bedtime at 9, etc. For as long as I have been around and can remember, they have been splitting a 0.75 liter bottle of beer for lunch. Having already had bad experience in Tunisia, where beer is very difficult to find and expensive, Grandma decided she would pack 10 0.75 cans of beer for the 10 days of their vacation, for them to split a can each lunch. Grandpa disproved, but she had decided and that was it. So, she packed 5 cans in her own suitcase and the other 5 into Grandpa's case, secretly. I can just imagine the Partisan inside her chuckle when she did this - He may be against it now, but when I surprise him with a can... heh heh.
Lo and behold, their suitcases arrived to Tunisia safely, yet completely wet. The cans exploded from the juggling and air pressure. In a very inconvenient way, Grandma was busted. Somehow, they did not have any problems going through the customs. Somehow, they survived the embarrassment of walking into their 4 star hotel smelling like two alcoholics. But when they arrived to the room, Grandpa found that even his fancy camera had gotten wet. Let's just say that I received an ample of angry text messages from Grandpa. They are not back yet but I hope that they got over it quickly and started enjoying their trip. In the meantime, I have been seriously considering being a third wheeler on the trip to the Canary Islands, if they'll have me. I am sure it would be a one of a kind adventure. Who knows what our guerrilla traveler has prepared for that episode. Stay tuned...
Grandma is special in her own ways. Very stubborn, very opinionated, very strict. Although today she uses her age as an excuse, I really think she always thought she was allowed to do anything. Raised in a bourgeois family, she would steal skis and other expensive goods from her own household to donate for the Partisans, then a guerrilla force fighting for liberation from the Nazi's. Grandma sometimes brags in a nonchalant tone about her contributions to WWII resistance as a medical worker. She traveled on foot and on horse with her own group of all-male Partisans from Belgrade to Zagreb through wilderness and forests. She entered Zagreb on a horse, on the very day that it was liberated, surrounded by the boys that she had been taking care of. Although she supported the communists when it was very dangerous to do so, Grandma left the Communist Party in disappointment when not supporting them was dangerous. Ever since, she has been very used to disagreeing with the world and I think she overcomes it all by being convinced that she is always right.
One hot summer in the mid 50's, Grandpa was riding around with his motorcycle buddies when he noticed Grandma. She was the only girl in Belgrade to ride a motorcycle at the time and techie Grandpa couldn't help but notice that it was a nice one too. Decades after they had fallen for each other so unconventionally, they have decelerated to a more predictable life. Regardless of their plentiful travel, they do have to comply with some rules - lunch is at 12:30, nap time is from 2:00-4:00, dinner is at 6:00, bedtime at 9, etc. For as long as I have been around and can remember, they have been splitting a 0.75 liter bottle of beer for lunch. Having already had bad experience in Tunisia, where beer is very difficult to find and expensive, Grandma decided she would pack 10 0.75 cans of beer for the 10 days of their vacation, for them to split a can each lunch. Grandpa disproved, but she had decided and that was it. So, she packed 5 cans in her own suitcase and the other 5 into Grandpa's case, secretly. I can just imagine the Partisan inside her chuckle when she did this - He may be against it now, but when I surprise him with a can... heh heh.
Lo and behold, their suitcases arrived to Tunisia safely, yet completely wet. The cans exploded from the juggling and air pressure. In a very inconvenient way, Grandma was busted. Somehow, they did not have any problems going through the customs. Somehow, they survived the embarrassment of walking into their 4 star hotel smelling like two alcoholics. But when they arrived to the room, Grandpa found that even his fancy camera had gotten wet. Let's just say that I received an ample of angry text messages from Grandpa. They are not back yet but I hope that they got over it quickly and started enjoying their trip. In the meantime, I have been seriously considering being a third wheeler on the trip to the Canary Islands, if they'll have me. I am sure it would be a one of a kind adventure. Who knows what our guerrilla traveler has prepared for that episode. Stay tuned...
what to say to such a wonderful story? and people? i am just happy to know that characters such as these two exist and make the world more colorful... i am also especially thankful for the anti-diahrrea medication your grandma gave me after my medical exam last summer ;)
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