by Kat Stovall

Created on: August 25, 2008   Last Updated: July 29, 2009

If I could have an hour to interview any human being it would be my Grandmother Hobbs. I was six years old when the only grandparent I had ever had passed away (Grandma Hobbs). I remember bits and pieces of that day and very little else about her. I have small memories of her alive; mostly of being in her small kitchen. I remember holing my father's hands as I walked up his legs and flipped myself over pretending to be an acrobat and hearing her voice say, "Kenny, stop letting that child do that she's gonna break her neck".

I remember her hands, though she was not very old when she passed, her hands looked as if they were the hands of someone who had seen ten lifetimes. I remember the day of the funeral. I remember wearing a frilly light blue dress and knowing that my grandma had died but I didn't cry. I remember the sadness of my mother's eyes and the way she clung to me. Not like a mother clinging to a child who won't sit still but like a mother clinging to her child to feel their movements, a reminder of life itself. For all the memories I missed out on and the few I have, I would choose my grandmother. Her life was not an easy life and her experiences were many. I would like the chance to learn about her and how she felt.

I often wonder what dreams and aspirations she had for her and her eighteen children. I want to talk with her of the pain of loosing a small child, the joy of watching others grow, of her life as a child, and her life as a woman. I would ask her how she met my grandfather and how she knew she loved him. I would ask her about every aspect of life I could within that short hour. I would bask in her telling of stories with laughter and tears. I would ask about the great depression, about her first television, and the Klu Klux Klan burning her house in Kansas City because of their African American nanny. I so often envy those who have the chance to share stories with their grandparents and they choose not to. Despite all the questions I would have and all that I could learn I think more than anything I would simply enjoy her presence. An interview would not be quite the word I would choose for the situation. It sounds too impersonal. To me it would be an enlightening. To have an hour to truly know, to learn from, and bask in the light of such a great woman would be truly an honor. The grandmothers and grandfathers in this world have much to teach us and I believe that we should all take the time to "interview" them every once in a while.

Learn more about this author, Kat Stovall.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.