Herstory

Her: When I was a little girl I dreamed of having to dig a hole to hide my whole family from the Japanese.
Me: What?
Her: We would have blackouts.
Me: Energy blackouts?
Her: NO dear, blackouts to keep them from bombing us. If they saw the lights from the town they knew where to drop the bomb. We had blackout curtains. You couldn't see any light through them... except maybe a sliver on the edges. There were police who walked around checking to make sure no light came through the slivers. If it did, you got fined.
Me: Whoa.
Her: It was a crazy time right after the depression. People still rationed food. Right before I was born people had to grow their own food.
Me: (thinking: I bet a lot of people starved.)
Her: People gathered scraps like metal.
Me: For money.
Her: NO to melt and re-use for themselves. It was so scarce.
Me: I need to ask more questions. This is fascinating.

We are so disconnected from what it's like to be hungry, scared and cold. Our grandparents are precious gems and while some of mine are still alive, I need to know what they know and hear it in their words to commit to memory.

What a treasure.