Sunday, October 19, 2008
The sold-out rock 'n roll audience was on the verge of rioting. The Madman homeboy was back in Motor City, and slamming Madhouse Motown classic dance music with a vengeance.
I scanned the dancing, swaying sea of 20,000 for inspiration. Then my eyes locked on a wild woman in the front row, seemingly out-rocking everyone else.
Her white hair was be-bopping to the animal rhythms. Head back, high stepping, legs a-kickin', fists a-pumping, arms a-flying, she was a dancing fool — a virtual whirlygig of a human dynamo.
Lord have mercy. It was Gram — my 91-year-old grandma, shaking a tailfeather like there was no tomorrow. Go, Granny. Go, Granny. Go, Granny, GO!
My Gram rocks. This uppity bombshell of a great grandma knows how to get down, get it on, kick out the jams, live right and rock out. Born in 1916 in the wilds of Michigan, this fine lady defines aging gracefully while still living life to the absolute fullest. She wouldn't have it any other way.
Rocking hard at 91, she is a powerful inspiration to everyone she meets. The glowing, spirited mother of my wife Shemane's mom, Ruth Cowan should run a regular televised educational channel, for her secrets to a good life could accomplish much for quality of life upgrade for many, many people today.
Living through the trials and rigors of the dust bowl of the 1930s, the Great Depression and World War II and all the violent ups and downs of this crazy world for nine decades, I am convinced that it was those soul-fortifying hardships that made so many of that generation tougher, stronger, more resilient.
Such influences made them more self-sufficiently prioritized than other generations. They are not spoiled.
Gram remembers life with no running water, no refrigeration, no radio, no TV, no phones, no sewing machines, no automobiles, no corner stores, very little medicine or health care support, and no 9-1-1 emergency services.
To hear her casually speak of taking care of herself and family through simple, pragmatic "take-care-of-business" hard work, discipline and common sense is to hear the description of the unmovable pillars of the American Dream.
She describes the near universal neighborliness in America she grew up in. The details of an entire nation united to defeat the evil Japanese Empire and the evil Nazis are music to my ears.
Hers are tales of how everyone sacrificed and did without, how everyone pitched in and salvaged everything from fuel to tin, from metal scraps to string for the war effort. It all makes me a little emotional, complete with melancholy hopes that such a nation can come back in my lifetime.
It was clearly those united, herculean efforts that inspired the truism, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." I have a dream.
How does Gram continue to contribute so? First, she cares for her sacred temple.
She eats oatmeal for breakfast with sardines numerous times each week. She always chooses whole grain bread with real butter, never yellow chemical poisons.
Long before it was trendy, she had identified the importance of superfoods like olive oil and garlic and fresh fruit.
But she does not avoid meat. She seeks quality meat and vegetables.
All of that, plus a little something with a kick now and then before bedtime, could very well be everything we suspect it to be for optimum health and a good, long life.
Add to this her zest for outdoor activities like trap and skeet shotgunning, gardening and walking, and I think we see a lady who was way ahead of the pack.
She tackles her love for music and dancing by playing her piano and singing with an intensity and gusto to be admired.
Call her the MotorCity MadGram. We love her madly. Rock on, Gram. Rock on.
Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and televison show host. Contact him directly at tednugent.com.
