Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Grumpy vs. Grampy

When I was a kid, we used to play ball in the alley just about every day except in the winter. Inevitably the softball that we played with would end up going into someone’s yard. Usually not a big deal, unless the ball happened to go into Grumpy’s yard. We didn’t know his real name, but called him “Grumpy” because he always seemed to be in a bad mood. It seemed that he would always be sitting on his patio, and as soon as he recognized that our ball had gone into his yard, he would start shouting at whomever was tasked with retrieving it. “Keep that ball out of my yard! The next time I am going to grab it and not give it back!” Sometimes he would sprinkle in a a few swear words, but we all realized that he could never catch us even if he jumped up from his chair, which he never did. Our usual retort was usually something lame like:
“Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed again today, Grumpy Gus!”
“Pipe down, you grumpy old man.”
One day I did not hear Grumpy shouting at me when I bounded over his fence to get the ball. When I looked towards the patio, Grumpy was not in his chair, but he was playing with two little girls. They were frolicking close to him and were giggling, “Grampy, don’t not tickle me. Grampy, can you catch me.” In the presence of these two interlopers, he was smiling. Grumpy had been transformed into Grampy.
I said to him, ”Are those your granddaughters, Grampy?” He nodded his head up and down, smiled, and said, “Yes, when they visit from out of town, we have a grand old time!” As I picked up the ball, I said, “Cute! You’re lucky to have them.” From then on whenever I would climb over his fence to retrieve the ball, I would say, ”How ya doin’ today, Grampy?” Like a miracle, his shouting and his dour look had vanished, and he usually responded in a cordial away. Together we had come a long way, and now we understood each other a bit differently . . . all because of that one friendly encounter.
Does every Grumpy have a Grampy side?
Probably not, but is it worth a try to find out? In most instances, probably yes.
Can the above Grumpy-Grampy story be a segue somehow to Donald Trump?
Of course!
The enemies of Mr. Trump might say that he is the prototypical Grumpy. At times he appears nasty and unfeeling. (Keep that ball out of my yard). He seems to constantly be making threats. (Next time I am going to grab the ball and not give it back!) But there are also many anecdotal stories demonstrating his soft side. (When they visit from out of town, we have a grand old time.)
It seems to me that the way things are going, nothing good can come out of any interaction between the Democratic politicians in California and our President. It appears that all the politicians want to do is play “macho man” to their base. Do they have any real interest in improving things for those in their district? If they really do want to make things better, they could quit grandstanding and do something to try to reduce the widening chasm between California and Washington.
President Trump happened to be in San Diego on 3/13/18. Perhaps instead of saying that Trump “wasn’t welcome here”, Juan Vargas (D-San Diego) could rather have said something like, “Even though we have our differences on immigration, I hope you have a pleasant visit in Southern California.” Which of these two statements could be considered as Vargas grandstanding to his base? Which of these statements could only further destroy any possibility of a truce between California and Washington?
Maybe if Grampy were still alive, I could get him to advise the grumpy Mr. Vargas!

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