I have talked about my Grandmothers house and shared a few tales in previous blogs. I thought today I would share a story my grandmother told me when I was a young man.
My Grandmother was a quietly religious woman. She seldom spoke of her faith. She didn't believe in playing cards ( devils toys ) and didn't hold to strong drink of any kind. My Grandfather did not share these beliefs.
They lived directly across the street from a dairy farm. My Grandfather,Horace,was friends with the farmer. Now Horace would stay over there late playing cards and drinking of strong spirits with this farmer. He would cross the pasture on his way home and track all sorts of unpleasant stuff in the house. My Grandmother would naturally become angry. She would tell him," Horace,the devil will get you for your drinking and card playing !" This continued for quite some time. Grandma always told Grandfather Horace the same thing.
One evening Horace came running into the kitchen,his face was flushed and he was out of breath. Barely able to speak he said," Cecila,you were right ! I have met the devil . He had big red eyes and horns ! He chased me across the pasture." My Grandmother just looked at him sternly and said," Horace,you drunken fool that was no devil, it was the Bull."
My Grandmother told me that my Grandfather stayed away from the strong drink and card playing for quite a while after that.
The only cards my Grandmother allowed in her house were Rook and Flinch - I still have that deck of Flinch cards because it was something I thought I wanted to save from my memories of those evenings sleeping overnight and playing games. We never called them cards in front of her! I think regular playing cards were associated with gambling and saloons! Interesting how times change...
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