RDP Monday: SOPHISTICATED

I learned the story of my family from  little box in my Grandfather’s workshop in the basement of  his house under a picture of Marilyn Monroe.

I thought the picture was beautiful and Marilyn looked so sophisticated. I always fought the urge to ask her image,

” what is a beautiful lady like  you doing in a place like this? ”

The box used to have a label on it, but it’s faded away and the string  holding  it shut is brittle  age- unlike the picture of Marilyn which looks as new as the day my grandfather pinned it to the wall in 1961.

I used to wonder what was in the box, but I figured it was something boring like a tube for one of his old radios- or screws or little wooden knobs.

As time went on though, I assumed that whatever was in that box wasn’t boring- after all it had a special spot under an ageless picture of Marilyn Monroe and for as long as I could remember that little old box had not moved an inch.

Just before he died, I was down in the basement, watching my Grandfather  work on an antique radio.  He said he was going upstairs to look for some tools- but I knew he was going up for his Sherry and on that day my curiosity got the better of me and I plucked the box from the shelf and turned it over in my hand

I pushed on the box gently at its ends and it opened just enough for me to see what was in there.

I saw two little bones and a tooth.

That’s not much, you might think.

But the truth is, if those little bones could talk they would have a story to tell.

But they can’t talk, so I will have to do it for them.

END OF PART 1