One regret that I have is that I did not have a better relationship with Grandpa Leifson. As a result the memories that I do have of being with Grandpa stand out all the more for me. I recall staying with Grandma and Grandpa overnight one time when I was 6 or 7 years old. As I was in their kitchen I found a handheld knife sharpener and of course having never seen something like this before I had to give it a try. After drawing the knife across the sharpener a couple of times I became more and more confident and started to move faster and faster. Alas a bit too much faster, because before I even realized what had happened as I lowered the knife across the sharpener I missed and instead drew the now sharpened knife across my thumb. There was blood everywhere! Grandma thought I had cut my thumb off and in her excitement I distinctly remember her exclaiming that if I had cut my thumb off that it served me right for messin with things I shouldn’t be messin with. She wrapped a kitchen towel around it and took me to the doctor for stitches. She was so mad at me that she scolded me all the way there and back. I was scared to death and thought I would never have a thumb again. I still have the scare to this day, over fifty years later.

The next day was Sunday and Grandpa felt sorry for me so he took me to The Office with him. I was thrilled! As far as I knew he was a carpenter and I didn’t know Grandpa had an office. We got in the car together and drove downtown and when we parked I was confused because there were no offices there that I knew of. We walked around the corner and into the cafe where Grandpa sat me down on a bar stool and ordered me a chocolate milkshake and him a cup of coffee. When I finished my shake he gave me two quarters for the pinball machine. I had never seen a pinball machine and playing it with my thumb all bandaged up was a challenge. I will always remember playing there in the corner of The Office with Grandpa sitting on his bar stool sipping his coffee waiting for me to finish. This was the only occasion that I ever spent time one on one with Grandpa and I will always cherish this memory.