Posted 6/13/01 Honorable mention 'My Best Older Friend' entries at the 6th grade essay contest My Two Best Older Friends By Mandi Irkfetz My two best older friends are my grandpa Delano and grandma Barb. My grandparents have a huge influence on my life. They make me laugh and without knowing it, they are helping me become the person I'm going to be. My grandparents are constantly making me laugh. They make me laugh by telling jokes, acting a little goofy, and by their way of telling stories. My grandpa and grandma help me grow, by treating me like an adult. They make me feel important, just by carrying on an adult conversation while Iím present. Teaching me is something they do without even realizing it. I observe them going on about their lives and hope someday I will work as hard as they do. Both of my grandparents have taught me about being strong. You can't ever expect someone else to do your work. My grandma really taught me about being strong when she survived cancer and my grandpa was strong for her. In fact, everybody in my family was strong for each other, just being there for one another. We have no other choice, thatís why weíre called family. When I think about my grandparents, I think of two people I'm truly blessed to have in my life I love my grandpa and grandma every much. My grandparents add up to be just like the rest of my friends. So, instead of saying my two best older friends, I'll say they are two of my best friends. My Best Older Friend By Nicole Wellnitz I have a special person in my life and it's my grandma. Sheís 64 years old and lives in Stacy. She used to take care of me when I was little, and I remember her taking me to the restaurant where my mom works. She would dress me up and fix my long hair, so I would look pretty she said. I liked going to see my mom, cause lots of people would talk to me. My grandma always said that taking me out in public and meeting people was good for me, then I wouldnít be afraid of people. I remember packing my bags and going to spend week-ends at grandmaís house. I always wanted her to make spaghetti, itís just the best. She has a special spice can on her stove. She would always sprinkle some in everything she makes. When I asked her what it was she said it was a little extra love to make it just right. The can read: Love-Spice for living.... I couldnít remember what all the can said, so I called my grandma. Net Wt.- Immeasurable. Ingredients: Faithfulness, Gentleness, Goodness, Joy, Kindness, Patience, Peace, Perseverance, Protection, Trust, Truthfulness and Unselfishness. I hope someday I get that can and then I can cook like her. My grandma and grandpa are now retired and going to move to Siren, WI. They're building a log home on 53 acres. I like going there, we camp in tents, and cook outside. We had a big party there and stayed up late. The whole family was there, built a big bonfire and had hot-dogs, salads, and made símores. They have a nice lake there where we swim. We can feed the deer, cause they built a deer feeder. Itís lots of fun being with my grandma and grandpa. My Best Older Friend By Chris Becklin My older best friend is my grandpa. His name is Donn Becklin. He is 71. He is my best older friend, because he is my only grandpa. I have never met or seen my other grandpa because my mom's dad died when she was only 12. He died in a car accident. My grandpa and I have likes. We both like sports and other stuff. My dadís family has emphysema that runs through their family. Emphysema is a disease that deteriorates the lungs. My grandpa also smoked, my cousin smoked which didnít help him. He signed up for an experiment to try to fix his lungs. He had the surgery done at Rochester: Mayo Clinic. He was in that hospital and a different one for four months. He almost died a couple times. In this time my baby sister was born. I remember his face when he first saw her. She was his first granddaughter. He had five grandsons. I think she gave him something to stay alive for. And stay alive he did now he is at home and is on oxygen all the time. My grandpa, cousins, and I play cards, watch TV. My grandpa is a real friend to me, because he is always there for me. If I stay with my grandpa for a day we always work. We go to our church and help out. My grandpa and grandma and my parents own a building. That is rented by Minnesota Work Force. They help people find jobs. We usually clean the building. Then he always takes us out for breakfast with his friends. Then on Mondays my grandpa plays cards with his friends. His favorite TV shows are ìThe Price is Rightî and ìGunsmoke.î We live on a farm and my grandpa helped my dad get started and helped with planting and harvesting. Now he still helps by telling me and my brother how to do things. These are just some of the reasons my grandpa is my best older friend. He will always be one of my best older friends. My Best Older Friends By Aaron Cedergren This is about my grandma and grandpa Cedergren. My grandma, Betty, is 69 and was born in 1932. She graduated at Kerkoven High School and then became a school teacher in 1955. She then married my grandpa, John, and moved to White Bear Lake. They then moved again to North St. Paul and lived there for a year. Meanwhile John was born in 1926 and is now 75 years old. He graduated at North Branch and met Betty at the Rush City Roller Dome. Grandpa worked at 3-M in the tape division while grandma taught at a couple different places and ended up in Elementary teaching at North Branch. In 1957 my dad, Mark, was born and 10 years later they went to Africa on a Missionary trip. In 1979 John and Betty moved to the Philippines for 13 years. Right now theyíre retired and like to travel with missionary work. As you may have noticed, my grandpa and grandma like to travel. This is just one of the many things we have in common. I love to travel! Iíve only been to 22 states, but someday I hope to visit them all. Another thing is, I think all grandmaís have a special ability to know what you want when we come up, there are always cookies waiting for me! I also love fishing with my grandpa. He knows all the best fishing spots and has great stories to tell which makes everything more fun! And then, of course, thereís my grandma who knows every card trick in the book. She teaches me a new one every time I come up, if it keeps up at this rate, Iím going to have to visit her more often! I love my grandma and grandpa very much and thatís why theyíre my best older friends! My Grandma By Randy Zentner When my teacher told me to write about a special time with a grandparent of mine I was puzzled. So I decided to ask my parents. My mom brought up a time that made me smile. It was the summer of 1999. It was July and we went to Colorado for a vacation and a family get together. Every member of my momís side was there. All of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and my grandma. that week I really got to know my grandma. My grandmaís name is LaVonne Bean. She is 62 and very fun to be around, but I didnít know that was true until that summer. Sure she was fun before that, but you donít think of a grandparent as being fun like a best friend; you just think of them as grandma or grandpa. Now Iím thinking a little different about grandparents not being fun like a best friend. Well almost every night all of us grandchildren and grandma would sit out on the deck and play cards. Grandma sure got the hand of the card game Peanuts, and really made everyone laugh when we were playing. One day everyone went fishing. Then us kids got our lines tangled up and Grandma helped us untangle them.The following day we went horseback riding. When we got back we started a game of tag. Guess what, my grandma even played. Then the last night we were there we had a Schemling Family Talent Show instead of cards. There were all sorts of funny acts, but there was one act I remember the most. All of us kids were going to do the macarana. Then our plan was to take people from the audience and have them join in too. When we pulled my grandma she wasnít shy and joined right in. I was laughing really hard, and not to my surprise the act won. Most kids have grandmas that bake for them, take them places, and tell them stories. My grandma does all those things too, but whose grandma plays tag, untangles fishing lines, plays cards with them, and does the macarana in front of a group of people. I donít think very many grandmas would do that. My grandma is one in a million, and I love her very much. ©Post Review