Thoughts in the Rain:

As we browsed the music store together, I got lost in my thoughts about your grandfather. He certainly had an annoying charm to him. Ooo, I want to smack him at times. But yet, I couldn�t bring myself to do so. He messed up my head then he still messes up my head now.

But yet, he was a good guy at heart. It showed with his family, especially his younger sister. He certainly treated me like a princess. At the same time, he brought me down to earth. You see, Frida, I grew up spoiled. Mommy and daddy always gave me everything I wanted. There was discipline, but they didn�t have to use it on me. I grew up a fairly good child. So good that I had no real idea about how the world worked. Your grandfather took it upon himself to show me how things were.

�Would your sister like Madonna?� I asked. Jim gave me a funny look.

�Who?� he asked.

�Madonna,� I repeated. �She�s a singer. She sang �Lucky Star�, �Borderline�, those songs.� A pause came between us. Jim then tried to hold back a laugh. I raised an eyebrow at him.

�What?� I asked. Your grandfather shook his head,

�Nothing, nothing,� he lied. I looked at him still.

�What�s wrong with Madonna?� I asked. Jim gave me a little shrug.

�Nothing, if that�s what you like,� he offered. I frowned at him. Your grandfather loved to wind me up time and again. I didn�t understand why he gave me such a hard time back then. Guess you could say it was love. I call it insanity. That�s the only word to describe good old Jim. Insane was that goofy grin that makes me want to smack him at times. But, that�s just how he was. Maybe, that�s why I loved him so much. I might have been going a bit crazy myself then. Who could say?

I folded my arms across my chest. �Fine then, what kind of gift do you think she would like?�

He smiled at me. �Gladly.� Your grandfather began his search around the section. Oh, he pissed me off at that moment. Jim seemed bent on making me look dumb. I know that wasn�t the intent, but it sure felt like it.

�Something�� he said as he drew out a cassette tape and held it out on display. �Like this!�

I gave his selection a puzzled look.

�Tina Turner?� I asked. Jim still grinned at me.

�Don�t tell me you�ve never heard of Tina Turner!� he boomed. I shook my head back and forth with a blank stare. Jim laughed at me.

�You�re joking, right?� he asked. I shook my head again.

�You poor, poor child,� he said. �We�ll have to work on you.� I stood there, red-faced. Moments like that made me want to throttle your grandfather. So why did I stay with that guy? Like I said, it was insanity. He was crazy from the beginning and it started to pass on to me.

I threw up my hands. �Fine, fine. We�ll get Tina Turner.�

Jim gave me that goofy grin that annoys me so much. �Good choice.�

We made it to the counter and made the purchase. Your grandfather insisted that he paid for it himself.

�It�s not your gift to pay for,� he said. �Save your money for something.� I didn�t argue as I reluctantly put my cash back into my wallet. He never wanted me to pay for anything. He used his money to cover everything we did.

I still don�t understand why to this very day. It seems weird to me.

1984