Family Stories

During our recent weekly conversation, my Mother relayed a hilarious, yet creepy family story that somehow I had never heard before now.

My Mother grew up in an old house in small town middle Iowa.  This house is built like a fortress and has withstood the test of time, 100 years to be exact with my Grandmother still living there.  I used to spend summers there, working in the family restaurant and the only thing that was creepy to me was the basement.  Of the restaurant or the house.

The thing I never knew (and am glad I never knew until know) was that occasionally a bat would enter the house.  Yes, a bat.

The point of entry was never found and being that my Grandmother encountered a bat as recently as this past week, the point of entry is still an open door to the bats.

My Mother told me how as a child it was a scary, creepy occurrence to suddenly have a bat fly into the living room at night.  This was such a problem that as young girls, my Mother and her sister had a nightly check to be sure the "bat rag" was stuffed in the basement door.  I was skeeved out just listening to her tell the story.  Apparently bats like to nest in your hair.  EWWWWW!

The funny part is my Grandfather would put a large kitchen pot on his head and take a tennis racket, start swinging and beat them to death.  After a few encounters, he got so good, he could kill a bat with one swing of the tennis racket while wearing the pot on his head.

Now that is one good shot! 

What is a recent family story you may not have known about?