"siovhan.lorelle"

How we love to hear from our beloved grandchildren even if is only in short notes like the following:

Grammy--
 
I am planning on dropping off my car next Monday. I will leave it full of gas and leave a key with you. My mom said that she talked to you and informed you that you might need to go and start it up every few weeks or so, so that the battery doesn't die completely.  I'm bringing Heather down with me so that she can drive me back up to Provo. I am going to be staying with her so that she can drive me to the Airport--as you will have kids and Grandpa is going to be laid up. 
 
I love you and I will talk to you soon.  I will also get the information for the "Trauntvein Times" in soon. 
 
Love,
Siovhan

clothes make the man. naked people have little or no influence in society.                                            --mark twain--

I haven't forgotten you!

In answer to your question, Barbara, I am still here.


I think having a husband who has had foot surgery and is bed-bound must be as close to having a new baby in the house as you can get. He is, of course, grown-up about it all but I still have to get up two or three times a night to give him meds and he has to have help to do most everything. We got him a wheelchair on Saturday and that has helped us both. He just had the surgery on Wednesday. He must be off of his foot for at least three weeks, meaning that he can not put any pressure on it at all, so that the bones will grow and heal. It is not much fun for him and I am tired.

I hope all is still going well. Tell Erin that I found her necklace under the edge of the basket of flowers in the blue bedroom when I was dusting. I will send it soon. (Depending on whether I ever get to the post office when it is open.) Tell the little ones that we love them very much.

Take care. 

Love, Myrna

Were you there, Charlie?

When I was small and would seem to be bragging and stretching the truth, my grandmother would say: “Were you there, Charlie?”

My grandmother was born in 1894 so a lot of the stories and quotes she used were from a time two generations before I showed up on the scene. She told me that the saying came from an old radio program but she didn’t ever say which one. She said that the star of the show would tell impossible stories and, when questioned, would say: “Were you there, Charlie?”

I decided to look up the old saying after I ran across a story using it. It was a news story discussing the closure of the GM  Janesville, Wisconsin, plant as written By Charlie LeDuff and Danny Wilcox Frazier. The teaser for the article included the words: “Were you there Charlie?" 

It turns out that the saying was the creation of radio comic, Jack Pearl. In the show, the Baron Munchausen, Pearl’s creation, was a braggart whose wild anecdotes, uttered with a Jewish/”Mittle European” accent testified to his unlikely acts. The Baron character was loosely based on the real Baron Münchhausen, a teller of tall tales.

Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Freiherr von Münchhausen, who lived in the 1700s, was known as Baron Münchausen in English. He was a German nobleman born in Bodenwerder and became famous for his tall tales.

The real Baron served in the Russian military and was a soldier in two campaigns against the Ottoman Turks. When he returned home, Münchhausen, according to contemporary reports, told some outrageously farfetched stories about his adventures. For example, the Baron's astounding feats included riding cannonballs, traveling to the Moon, and escaping from a swamp by pulling himself up by his own hair. In some versions, he reportedly said he had pulled himself up by his own bootstraps.

Pearl’s Baron always addressed skepticism with a catchphrase that once was as familiar to Americans as "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" is today. Uttered as: “Vas you dere, Sharlie?” The phrase translated to: "Were you there, Charlie?"

When the straight man (originally Ben Bard, but later Cliff Hall), expressed doubt about the story being told, the Baron replied: "Vass you dere, Sharlie?" His coined catch phrase soon became part of the national vocabulary.

Jack Pearl (Jack Perlman) was born on October 29, 1894, in New York City, and died on December 25, 1982.

He began his carrer as a vaudeville performer. He was then a star of early radio. Pearl made an easy transition from vaudeville to broadcasting when he introduced his character Baron Munchausen on The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air in 1932.  

All this searching began because of some political quotes I read in a news report where the “The Speaker’s Quote Book” by Roy B. Zuck, includes the following quote on Page 115 under the heading, Creation: “Joe and Charlie were arguing about Genesis 1:1. Joe said he believed the record of creation just as it was written. Charlie was an unbeliever, and went to great lengths in giving his own theory of how the world began and then how life developed from a primordial cell through reptiles, monkeys, and up to man. When he was all through, Joe looked at him and said, “Were you there, Charlie?” It was a good question. “Of course I wasn’t there,” he replied. Joe said, “Well, God was. He was the only one there and I’ll take the word of the Eyewitness rather than the guesses of those who rely on their own imagination.”

The same quote is used (no author is attributed at either source) by M.R. De Hann, on the radio program, “Our Daily Bread” on the show aired on April 9, 2000.

I suppose I am passing the saying along to another generation just as are the news reporters of today. We are using a quote that originated back in the 1930s on a radio show that most have all but forgotten. The other day, one of my little granddaughters told quite a tall tale. I asked her: “Were you there, Charlie?”

Erin and Donovin Visit

To Barbara:


I hope the little ones had as much fun here with me as I had having them here. They are great fun. Donovin is learning to talk really well and everyday he says some other new and wonderful thing. Of course, we all think that Erin is the little princess. Uncle Jim, in fact, calls her, “Erin Lenora Princess Trauntvein.”

We had the Howard cousins stay overnight on Wednesday so they could have fun together. The little girls: Alyssa, Megan, and Erin even shared one queen-sized bed. They said they slept well and had fun. They boys also camped out but Donovin gave up and slept with me because he wanted to “hold me.” So we slept on a regular-sized bed and the other boys slept on a queen Leonard got a bed to himself, poor boy.

In addition, on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, the Eric Trauntvein kids were here during the day. Just the two youngest, Maddilyn and A.J. Until evening. Then the other two boys and their mom came and picked them up. But they had fun riding bikes, playing on the swings, playing dolls and cars and just having fun. 

Bree did look better--healthier. So, for that matter, did David.  


Bree also said she was worried that the daycare you and David picked out was not clean. You can tell me if you think that is true. David says he thinks it is clean. If it weren’t then it couldn’t be licensed. The facility is inspected.

Give the little ones hugs and kisses. I do love them so very much. They make my heart happy. I hope they will have good and happy lives. I also hope that David and Bree have happy lives. I know that being a daddy makes David happy. Being a parent has always made me happy. For that matter, being a grandparent has always made me happy. I just love young people.


I am still working on being what I hope is a good parent and what I hope is a good grandma. I hope someday that I really do get it.

It is back to you, Grandma.


Love, M

Todd and Family Moved to Ohio

We all have new e-mail accounts.  

Todd = ttrauntv@columbus.rr.com
Amy = atraunt@columbus.rr.com
Michael = mtrauntv@columbus.rr.com
Tyler = dinodig@columbus.rr.com
Emily = emilyjessie@columbus.rr.com

Our new address is: 

78 Weeping Willow Run Rd
Johnstown, OH 43031

Phone: (740) 967-0756

We kept our cell-phones; however, our service here is not the best I have seen.  Sometimes, we get the calls and sometimes it goes straight to e-mail.

The cell numbers are:

Todd = 8013687591
Amy = 8013687987

Things are working well.  We have most of the stuff out of the boxes and are working on cleaning up the garage and extra items.  We have a couple of pieces of furniture to buy, such as a couch and a dining room table with chairs.

The kids all started school today.  All of them came home saying they wanted to go back tomorrow and each of them made a number of new aquaintences today--we'll see if any of them pan out to be true friendships, but it looks good.

Thanks for all your assistance in getting us prepared for the move and lending your support physically and emotionally.  We appreciate it all.

Siovhan Loves the TNT Family

Gram--
 
Do you have Todd and Amy's new address in Ohio? I'd love to write those kids some letters just letting them know that they'll be fine and that I love them dearly. If you could send it to me that would be great. 
 
Love,
Siovhan

clothes make the man. naked people have little or no influence in society.                                            --mark twain--