Surprise!

After we had built a house for Grandpas right beside ours I used to go over every evening to spend some time with them.

Grandpa was confined to his bed but he still loved visiting and sharing his memories with me. I think it was the highlight of the day for both of us.

Here is one of his stories.

The bishop in our church had a large family. Among his daughters was one that had captured my heart. She was quiet, always had time to give those around her a smile and a kind word, and was never to busy to stop and talk to or help little children.

It was a little intimidating to think of asking to call on her especially since other boys had tried and so far her answers had always been a firm "No." I finally decided the worst thing that could happen was that she says no to me too and I went ahead and asked for permission. She kept me waiting for several weeks before she finally agreed that I could call on her.

We had our first few dates uneventfully and word soon spread that little John was courting Lydia Nissley. The one boy, Henry,  had asked her numerous times to go courting didn't seem very happy with the news but he didn't want to do anything especially not at the bishop's house.

It wasn't very long before Lydia was helping a family out for six weeks after they had a baby and our dates were held at that house instead. Somehow, Henry discovered that and I had a feeling that he might get a few of his friends to go date busting*.

We had just settled on our chairs in the kitchen and were catching up on all the latest news when we heard something in the basement. I told Lydia to hide in the pantry while I got the pail of water that was standing by the wash basin. I waited by the basement door and as soon as Henry and his cronies opened it I let them have it.

I'll never forget how they stood there looking soggy and bewildered. As soon as they gathered their wits together they left and we were never bothered with them again.

He and Grandma both chuckled at the memory while I tried to imagine how he must have looked as a strong young teenager defending their territory instead of lying helplessly in bed.

* Date busting was the term they used when some of the young folks decided to arrive uninvited and sit in on someone else's date. Very annoying especially when you had to wait two weeks between each date.