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Memories of C.B.



When I was a kid I had a grandfather everyone called C.B. The "C" stood for Clarence. I don't know what the "B" stood for. I have only pleasant memories of the man. After all it was a long time ago. He was married to my mother's mom. And he wasn't my mom's paternal father. He married my grandmother, Rita, after my mom's dad had passed away.

C.B. used to babysit me. We lived in the suburb of Scarborough. Both my mom and dad worked in downtown Toronto. On our street the houses were mostly all the same. "Strawberry boxes" I remember my dad saying in reference to the squat look of the three-bedroom bungalows that lined the street. A street we used to play in year round since there wasn't a whole lot of traffic. We played baseball in the summer using the sewer lid as home plate and garbage pail tops and somebody's jacket for bases. And of course we played hockey in the winter but we used a tennis ball instead of a puck. It hurt less when you got hit with it.

And in the winter I recall helping our neighbour Mr. Painter shovel his driveway. He had a home-made plow made of wood that he used to push the snow. My contribution was to sit on the plow end to provide the weight necessary to not leave any snow behind.

In the midst of this erstwhile activity, for which I did not get paid, C.B. called me from the front door to tell me he'd made me a Japanese Wing-ding for lunch. A what? I'd never heard of such a thing. So I traipsed down the sidewalk to our front door, removed my snowsuit, scarf, mitts and boots and sat myself at the kitchen table.

Turns out a Japanese Wing-ding was a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I'd never had such a concoction before but it was the best sandwich I'd ever had.



I remember thinking: Geez, I think the Japanese are on to something. C.B. sure was.!

Comments

Linda Medrano said…
Japanese WingDing? What a lovely name for a sandwich! It was also a lovely post. It brought back memories of a simpler time.
nonamedufus said…
Things indeed were simpler back then. Black and white TV, no internet or computers, no cell phones. You made your own fun! And I always had fun. And I'll never forget what C.B. called those sandwiches.
Linda Medrano said…
We had roller skates with "keys"; we climbed trees. We played "War" and attacked each other with dirt clods. Kids were usually pretty skinny from all the running around playing too. We got dirty and sometimes we even got hurt. But we never sat around in the house! Our parents really didn't worry about us either.
nonamedufus said…
Yeah we used to play hide and seek. And we didn't have to come home until the streetlights came on!
Nicky said…
Now I have to Google Japanese Wing-ding. There has to be a reason he called it that.

And the tennis ball hockey puck made me laugh. You're absolutely right about it hurting less. Unless it gets wet and then freezes. That hurts like a bitch.
00dozo said…
My maternal grandfather used to babysit me and my sister, too, when we were both young and, wouldn't you know it, he made us toasted banana sandwiches (but with no peanut butter). They were the best, especially if the banana was just ripe enough to peel.
nonamedufus said…
I think he made it up. But it's stuck with me for over 50 years.

Frozen tennis balls? That would hurt. I'd remember that. Glad I didn't play goalie.
meleahrebeccah said…
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches are amazing! And pretty healthy.
nonamedufus said…
Have you ever tried peanut butter and lettuce? Yum, and also healthy.
nonamedufus said…
Oh, you have to add the peanut butter. And if it's toasted it runs all over the place.
meleahrebeccah said…
Super allergic to peanuts ­ so NOPE!
nonamedufus said…
Then I guess you wouldn't go for a toasted lettuce sandwich.
meleahrebeccah said…
Um...and.... the last time I ate lettuce, I almost died. Like for real. Paramedics had to save my life.

So, that might be the most dangerous sandwich I could ever eat!
00dozo said…
Nah. I don't like peanut butter with bananas. I like them alone and not together. But I do love toast with peanut butter and, yes, it is quite messy.

Oh, Happy Victoria Day, by the way! ;-)
nonamedufus said…
So I guess a toasted sandwich sandwich would be your limit.
nonamedufus said…
It's kinda funny the 24 weekend runs from May 19-21 this year, don't you think? Do you miss it?
00dozo said…
It's rare that the 24th falls on the Monday in most years even though it is still referred to as the "May 2-4" weekend. And yes, I do miss it. I used to go fishing on this weekend - I long for freshwater fish (perch, pickerel, etc.). The ocean varieties just don't cut it. I don't, however, miss the long weekend traffic. ;-)
So Elvis is Japanese!??!
nonamedufus said…
I was supposed to go to Kingstonaand golf and drink with my brothers but I'm still weak recovering from that monster flu I had. Next time.
nonamedufus said…
A hunk a hunk a burning wing-ding?
Cheryl said…
Probably depends on the type of grain in the bread. Poor Meleah.
Cheryl said…
This looks delicious. I love stories of grandparents. I was lucky to have known all 4 of mine. As a kid, I read Reader's Digest and took all the funny tests. I remember one with photos of 20 ordinary things that you had to identify from a list. It was an 'age determining' test. At 13, I got a score that put my true age between 60 and 75. I was so pleased with myself. After all, an ice box is not a refrigerator; a gramophone is not a record player; a wringer washer is not a washing machine.
nonamedufus said…
I remember having an ice box. And I once got my arm caught in a wringer. My mother just put it in reverse to get my arm out. Luckily, nothing broken.
nonamedufus said…
True dat! The only thing I can't eat is peas. It's not an allergy but a bad childhood memory.

http://nonamedufus.blogspot.ca/2010/12/turning-tables-on-vegetables.html
Jaffer said…
Sweet Story.

My brother and I never got to meet out Grandfathers. My parents were still in School when they died.

But this peanut butter and banana sandwich is a novelty. I am going to try it tomorrow morning !
nonamedufus said…
Thanks, Jaffer. My Dad's side of the family was a mystery. Never knew his siblings or his parents. But memories of C.B. and Rita are very fond, except for when Rita threatened to cut off my tongue with a paring knife. Another story for another time.

Good luck with the Japanese Wing-ding!
Quirkyloon said…
How sweet and I've always enjoyed pb and nanners. Mmmm. Yummo.
Kablooey said…
What a great post. Love all the details, especially the image of you sitting on the end of the homemade plow. And the fact that you still seem a little slighted not to have been paid for the "work."
nonamedufus said…
Oh I wasn't disappointed in not getting paid. I was just pointing out that back in those days kids didn't expect to get paid.
nonamedufus said…
Oh I wasn't disappointed in not getting paid. I was merely pointing out that in those days we didn't expect to get paid. I just enjoyed riding the plow.

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