- [Narrator] For many of us, our grandparents are some
of the most inspiring people
that we've had the honor of knowing,
and grandparents always have the best stories to tell.
So we asked people to tell us a favorite story
that one of their grandparents has told them,
and we know that the next three stories will
give you all the feels.
- [Narrator] This is the badass story my grandpa told me
about the time his mom caught his dad with another woman.
I heard a lot about my great grandmother
as I grew up, but no one ever talked about my great grandpa.
When I heard this story, I understood why.
My great grandmother raised four kids in a small town
right after the depression.
There were rumors floating around
that her husband was being unfaithful,
and she had a feeling that his late-night trips
for rifle practice weren't what they seemed,
so one night when he was heading out,
my great grandmother snuck into his car
and hid on the floor of the back seat,
covering herself with a blanket.
Her husband tossed his rifle into the back seat
right on top of her and shut the door,
not noticing her at all.
Just as she suspected, he did not go to rifle practice.
Instead, he picked up a woman who turned
out to be her secret girlfriend.
When he and the woman began smooching,
my great grandma popped up from the backseat and said,
"You'll be taking me home now."
I'm sure she scared the absolute shit out of them.
In the 1940s divorce was almost unheard of,
but my great grandma did it anyway.
With little financial support form her ex,
she got a job as the manager of a mail room
and raised a family on her own.
My great grandma was nothing short of a badass.
I think the courage it must have taken her
to stand up for herself is so inspiring,
and while I missed the opportunity
to know her while she was alive,
I inherited her name, Elizabeth,
as my middle name, I hope that in my life,
I can bring the same strength
and badass-ery to the name that she did.
- [Narrator] My grandma told me a story once
about the time she toured a mental institution in the '60s,
and this story has always really stuck with me.
Back in the day when my grandma was getting her master's
in children psychology, she and her professor
toured a mental institution for children.
This was a time when the lives of mentally disabled people
were not considered that valuable.
Each day at this facility, the staff would
put the kids in a day room with no toys,
no activities, literally nothing to do but sit around,
and the staff told my grandma that the kids had started
taking off their clothes for no reason
when they were in this room, even after they tried
putting a partition in the room
to separate the leaders from the followers,
the kids still found ways to misbehave.
Half the group would take their clothes off
and throw them over the partition to the other kids,
and a lot of people on the staff thought,
wow these kids are really disturbed.
But grandma, in all her infinite wisdom,
saw play.
Just a group of kids trying to entertain themselves
by playing catch with their clothes.
What everybody else perceived as mentally insane
she saw as clever ways to play.
It's perspectives like this that I know
are the reason we've come so far
in the way that we treat people
who behave differently than what's normal.
My grandma went on to help make so many advances
in children psychology and childhood development,
and she had an incredible ability
to see the world through other people's eyes,
and I feel that I owe a huge debt of gratitude
to my grandma for helping me want to do the same.
- [Narrator] My grandparents were high school sweethearts,
and I've always seen them as inseparable.
Even when my poppa developed Alzheimers,
when he couldn't remember anyone else,
he still remembered his only love.
I recently discovered letters that my poppa wrote
to my grandma around the time they got married.
This letter in particular stood out to me.
"My dearest one, the end of another week
and soon I'll be seeing you.
I'm anxious to see you and be with you.
I've missed you lots and lots, darling.
We are truly a wonderful couple
and I'm sure we're the chosen couple.
Golly, isn't it wonderful to know
our love is perfect and everlasting?
I looked over my folder today
and read your notes to me, you must have heard me say,
Birdie has been my tower of strength.
Honestly, I could never have done as well
as I have if it hadn't been for you.
This weekend I'd like to listen to some records.
Would you like to do this?
Just being with you is so grand no matter what we do.
Our whole life has been a series of wonderful days.
The future will be the same or better, I know.
Take care of yourself until I can,
your lover, Cal."
This letter resonated with me because it is a reflection
of the way I have learned to love.
I valued independence above anything else
for many years, and it wasn't until my current relationship
that I understood I could care
for myself and let someone care for me.
Leaning on someone isn't weakness.
It's actually a strength.
It's a strength that my grandparents had
in their relationship and one that I'm grateful
to have in my own.
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