You know what I like the most about Bernie Sanders? Oh yes, I do like his views on various issues, and can appreciate the effect his presidency could have on the United States. But as far as I’m concerned, it is his looks that appeal to me. No, not exactly my Dream Man…but he looks just like my Grandpa!
To me that is high praise…my grandfather was far and away the most wonderful man I have ever known in any capacity. I do not know anything about his political views, except that he did not like President Harry S Truman. I can only speculate. Grandpa, also known as Arthur Josiah Piper, had been injured in a terrible explosion at SOHIO, the Standard Oil Company of Ohio gasoline refinery in about 1915…in which he sustained severe injuries which left him unable to work, and on a life-long pension. He could not walk for a year or two, and in fact never could walk without a cane.
This misfortune actually had positive results, however…besides the financial support of the gas company which helped to get him through the Great Depression years of the 1930s in relatively good shape. He was able to maintain the life style that he and my grandmother had enjoyed since their marriage in about 1905, having had a comfortable financial position.
My Dad was born in 1910, and since I was not born until 1934, I have no personal recollection of any of this.
Grandpa had been a typewriter salesman back in the late 1890s, and one of his most prized possessions was his Berkensderfer Typewriter, which he had until his death in 1955. I have the typewriter today.
Oh what a grand machine! It featured a print head shaped like a machine cog, which had upper and lower case letters, and rotated to type some punctuation characters. This typewriter was absolutely fascinating to Me…when Grandpa would take it out, open its grand wooden case, and type a message…usually one (or both) of the following practice sentences:
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.
The quick red fox jumped over the lazy dog’s back and ran away.
One of the machine’s most popular features (with Me) was its purple ink, applied to the moving header by sliding it back and forth on an ink pad. This purple ink feature was the thing Grandmother most disliked about the whole process.
I had forgotten the point of this post, and scrolling upward brought me back to my discussion of Bernie Sanders. I doubt that he would be flattered to know that he reminded me so much of my grandfather…especially since he is so much younger than I am now. Come to think of it, though, he was just about Grandpa’s age back in the days I am referring to now.
SOMETIMES 