The Yarnarian has another Mommie story!

When the Mommie retired, she and a lady friend both around the same age and both widows, decided to take one big trip a year. Now you need to understand that the Mommie was always very frugal; she had to be. But as she got older, she passed frugal and became cheap, really mingy. So here is this woman who will not spend $2 on a glass mug that she really likes, and she and her friend decided to whoop it up internationally.

And travel they did. First class was not good enough for them. They toured ultra first class. They once did 2 Perillo tours of Italy, north and south, and complained that it wasn't ritzy enough for them. They took tours because that was the way they could really learn about the various countries, and they were taken care of from the beginning to the end of the tours.

A side note here - The Mommie's friend had lost a lot of weight and was very wrinkled. Both ladies were in their upper sixties - seventies and looked little and old and fragile. Not that they were fragile; they just looked it. And the Mommie's friend with her excess wrinkles looked old enough to be the Mommie's mommie. Every time they met up with their new traveling companions, the other folks would get this look on their faces: Uh oh, we're going to be saddled with these 2 old bags. HAH! Their first trip was to Israel and Egypt. Marched into the King David Hotel, unpacked what they needed to, and then went off exploring. Everyone else had jet lag; not these 2 characters; the literally marched out of the hotel. They also explored Mt Vesuvius on their Italy trip.

OK, back to the story. So the Mommie and friend went to Israel and Egypt, France, England and such, Italy, Greece and Turkey, Morocco and Spain, and the ultimate - Japan. They did part of the US, and I forget what else they did. Suffice it to say that they were all over the joint. They had 2 tours of Japan and had to get from one tour to the other on their own. So they got on the bullet train, got shoved in, and made it by themselves to the beginning of the second tour.

Oh, and the Mommie did get pinched in Venice, which she thought was hilarious, this the prudish lady.

They stopped traveling when illness began to arrive. All in all, I think they made at least 10 month-long trips.

Are you getting the picture? So the other day, an announcement was made at the Mommie's residence: We're going to lunch tomorrow to a kosher Chinese restaurant. Did the Mommie want to come. "No", she says. "But you'll have a chance to get out and see something really new and different. It'll be fun and exciting!" Answers the Mommie: "I've been all over the world. Do you really think that I'm going to find something new and exciting at a kosher Chinese restaurant?" At that point, the organizers of the trip gave up. How could anyone counter that remark?

There are many more Mommie stories yet to be told. And now you know why I've never won an argument with her. Neither did my father. Yay, the Mommie!

Ria - When I was a kid, I was afraid of her. Not that she ever did anything to hurt me, but when she got mad, she gave you the silent treatment, or The Lecture. And that's a story for another time.

Grace - She is The Mommie! NO doubt about it!