It was the annual family retreat at the lake cabin for 4th of July. This year, even grandpa and grandma, who seldom leave the security of their assisted living apartment, were going to be there. With them, the total was ten and every available bed would be in use. It was great to have them… even though they did not play golf.
It had become an annual event for everybody to go to the local 9-hole golf course and play a mid-morning round before the boat parade in the afternoon and fireworks and food at dusk.
When they got to the golf course, management informed them that they had a very strict policy: No spectators, it made no difference whether they were walking or riding, their insurance simply would not cover spectators. “We should just go back to the cabin and sit by the lake or go fishing,” one said.
Then the manager had an idea. “Why don’t the grand parents just relax on the lower deck in the shade. I will spring for the beer or what ever they want to drink. You will be back in a couple hours.”
Grandma piped up, “We will be happy to just relax in the beautiful north woods air while you go play that silly game. I never really liked watching golf anyway, I can never see where the ball goes.”
The two foursomes were off and the two old folks made themselves comfortable on the lower deck. When the manager returned with their “sweetened” ice tea, he had also brought a bag of peanuts in the shell. “Enjoy!” he said, “I will be back to check on you in a while.”
Grandpa loved the ice tea, sweetened of course, and the peanuts were fresh and tasty. As the first bag of peanuts was almost finished, he noticed a chipmunk with its nose twitching and tail moving even faster, trying to figure out where that great smell was coming from. Grandpa flipped a peanut toward Alvin, that is what they called every chipmunk, and the chipmunk disappeared in a blink. Quickly however, Alvin returned. Both sat very still as Alvin nervously approached the peanut watching grandpa out of the corner of his eye. As his confidence grew, Alvin snatched his prize and disappeared under the deck. After Alvin had deposited his prize in the winter food bank, he returned with confidence. This time it did not take Alvin long to grab the second peanut and run.
Next, grandpa placed the last two peanuts a little nearer to him and waited. Just as Alvin was stuffing the second peanut into the pouch on the other side of his mouth, the manger returned to check on them. Alvin vanished in a flash. “Need anything else, your family should be finishing up in about 30 minutes,” he said with a friendly face.
“If you could find another bag of those peanuts, I think I can get Alvin to take one out of my hand. For some reason chipmunks don’t seem to fear me. I have been able to get them to eat right out of my hand, sometimes they come right up on my lap. My grandkids would love to watch that.”
The manager quickly returned with a fresh bag of peanuts and smiled, “I hope you can get that chipmunk, what do you call him, Alvin, to take a peanut from you, my kids would love to see it also.”
By the time the two foursomes had completed their round grandpa had indeed made a friend of Alvin – who had hit the mother load. With another bag of peanuts almost gone and Alvin without fear, it was a simple game of feed Alvin while the kids watched and the parents took pictures.
The golf game will soon be forgotten, but the pictures of Alvin eating peanuts from grandpa’s hand will live long after the two of them are eating peanuts and drinking “sweetened” ice tea in Heaven!
