CAVEMAN CHRONICLES: MY GRANDMOM LIVES AT THE BOTTOM OF A HUGE MOUNTAIN

My grandmom lives at the bottom of a huge mountain. Well, it's not so huge now, but when I was a kid I thought it was one of the biggest mountains in the world, complete with mists, and rocks, and ancient indian spirits. I still remember hiking up that mountain with my Mom and Dad, big sister, and little brother. We didn't always go together, or at the same time, but sometimes we did, and when that happened, as we would enter the forest at the bottom of the trail, just for a moment, a quiet wonder would come over us all.

Grandmom with my new niece, "Bella," on the left, and my little cousin, "Marley," on the right.

When I was a kid, going up to my Grandparents house was always such an adventure, there's so much to do and to explore there. There's a huge soccer field, and an old style playground with big kid swings, and slides, and monkey bars, which all used to fascinate me. There's a great pool, where I learned to swim. Come to think of it, I probably owe my entire surfing experience to that pool, I can still hear my Grandmom saying to my mom, "that boys a fish, Joanne."

There's this little clubhouse kine house outside that my Mom and aunts call the "doll house." I have always stayed away from this place as I suspect that this was where they would conspire together as kids, devising up devious plans to tease my uncles.

Grandmom and Grandpa on the boardwalk in what's, I believe, Atlantic City. As you can see my Grandpa was one sharp cat, this is where I get my stocky frame, and unreal good looks.

And then there's the house... built by my Grandparents, the house is perhaps the warmest, happiest place I have ever known. To this day, though my grandfather has passed on now, I still always feel a sense of peace come over me when I'm in that house, you can just feel all the love they put into it, it surrounds you as you walk in and without a doubt, catch a strong whiff of some amazing food my grandmom always has cooking on the stove. And in-spite of all the warmth and love I feel when I go in that house, in-spite of the way all my worries just pop and disappear when I walk through the door of the lanai, the one thing I will always cherish about that place is the innocent sense of wonder it has instilled in my heart, and the way that wonder has led me to all the good things in my life.

And of course there is my Grandmother. A true matriarch, she is a leader, a queen in hiding. Walking across the green outdoor carpeting of the lanai, and opening the door to the kitchen is always--everytime--like opening a birthday present. Turn the doorknob, and boom, love just smacks you in the face, and there she is, my grandmom sitting at the table, or pulling some fresh muffins out of the oven, with a huge smile on her face, saying, " well hey there Bri!"

Check out the bronze on those two!

And hearing all that you might think, well that is how all Grandmothers are, they are all loving and caring and excited to see you when you come for a visit, and thats true, but my Grandmother is different. She is different I say, because behind all that love, and that smile, and those muffins is a woman who knows the mysteries of the universe. Of course she would never tell you her secrets... if you were to go to her and ask, "Mrs. Dunn, what is the stuff that dreams are made of?" She would only reply, "well I'm not sure about that hun, maybe peanutbutter?" But the look in her eye would tell you that she does indeed have that knowledge, only she can't share it... because it is that very knowledge which she uses to protect us.

My grandmother is a guardian. She stands at the head of a very large family, a family I am so very proud to be a part of. A family that has seem many many good years filled with laughter, smiles, and wonder. But also a family that has seen many hardships, and throughout all of it, through the good and the bad, my Grandmom has been there for us all with a smile and a kiss, and maybe a bran muffin, or a warm cup of split pea soup to make sure that we are ok. What would we ever do without her. What would the world ever do without her... what would the universe ever do without her.

Thanks Grandmom, oh and,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!