Grandma Makes A New Friend

In Canada, Grandma makes a new friend and how! A hilarious incident that tells us friendship and fun has no age. 

One winter, Grandma Veni traveled to Canada to visit me. As a part of giving her a good Canadian experience, my roommates and I decided to take her on a road trip. The five of us drove from Saskatoon to Calgary to see the majestic Rockies. We did all the touristy stuff all Saturday – We rode the Gondolas; skied; turned into models posing for pictures; restaurant-hopping, gorged on their gourmet spreads, were labeled gluttons and shopped until we dropped dead and of course until we ran out of spending money.  Well, everyone knows women and shopping are like ying-yang, inseparable.

Nevertheless, the excitement and the craziness were missing and we yearned for it. We didn’t like the idea of being goody-goody tourists. It was boring. Little did we know it was to come from unexpected quarters.

It was quiet as a morgue in the car.

Sandi said, “Amul, pull over at the drug store. I need some Tylenol. I have a splitting headache.”

I complied. We all got out in the parking lot and stretched. Grandma observed the aura of boredom.

She said, “Girls, I have an idea. Whatever happens don’t laugh and act like you don’t know me.” We gaped at her.

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“Follow me,” she said, snapping her fingers she led us into the drug store.

We trailed one after another like chicks following a hen and disappeared into the aisles as strangers. We turned into wax dolls of anticipation and excitement and stood mute, watching.

Grandma stood before the billing clerk and said, “This is drug store? Correct?”

Grandma stood before the billing clerk and said, “This is drug store? Correct?”

Why is she faking a Russian accent? I thought and stood mute.

“Yes.”

“I need buying 100 grams marijuana,” she said.

“What?!”  The clerk screamed.

“I need buying drugs – marijuana…”

“No… No… This is a drug store. You need a doctor’s prescription to buy drugs here,” she said, waving her hands frantically.

“I love Can-ee-dah. You going, doctor giving prescription, you buying drugs? I love your cunn-three,” Grandma smiled ear-to-ear.

“No, Lady…You get a prescription from the doctor for your health problem and then you come here to get your drugs.”

“That’s what I say… no?”

The Clerk shrieked, “We don’t sell drugs. We sell medicines!”

“Then why call it a DRUG store?” smirked Grandma.

We couldn’t control our laughter anymore when we saw the puzzled look on the clerk’s face. We burst into laughter.

“Never too old for fun or to make a new friend, eh?” said Grandma with a sly wink at the red-faced clerk. We invited Veronica, the clerk to lunch and indeed made a new friend.

Old woman holding hands image via Shutterstock

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