So Many Questions; Interesting Answers

A few days after the birthday party for Mrs. Joann, Marlee asked her Grandma B what a Hollywood was. Grandma B chuckled and said, "Hollywood isn't a thing it's a place."
Marlee said, "Well why does Grandma Lu want me to go to Hollywood? I thought she liked me."
Grandma B chuckled and said, "Oh she does like you. She loves you just like she was your real grandma, she thinks you are beautiful. That's why she said that. Look. Here's a picture of you and Grandma Lu out in the rain. See how she looks at you? Don't worry. Grandma Lu doesn't want you to go away."

A couple of days later, Grandma Lu saw Grandma B's car in the Marleewood parking lot and decided to stop in for some visiting and of course, hopefully a snack. When she walked in there was Marlee sitting in the back kitchen table eating a leftover cupcake from the birthday party. "Is there any left, Marlee? I'm starving!" Marlee giggled because Grandma Lu was always starving for sweets.

Grandma B put a cupcake and a cup of coffee in front of Grandma Lu and soon Marlee said, "Grandma Lu why do you want me to go to Hollywood?"
Well Grandma Lu quickly looked at her friend and said, "What? I don't want you to go to Hollywood. Oh I know where you got that. I said you were beautiful enough to go to Hollywood, not that I wanted you to go there."

Marlee looked at her Grandma B and said, "Well, I want to go there. Let's go tomorrow. You want to come along, Grandma Lu? Do only beautiful people live there? How far is it? How long will it take to get there? Who lives there? Will I be as beautiful as they are? Are there little kids there too, just like me? Can I take my toys there and my little sister and mama and daddy? How long are we going to stay? Will we get a motel like we did last year when we went on that long vacation? How come you aren't answering my questions, Grandma Lu?"

Grandma B gave her friend a look like, "Oh, Girl, have you ever started something here. I hope you can fix this one."

"Okay, little one, let's go in the Sitting Room. I'll tell you all about Hollywood and who lives there. And why I said that you should be in Hollywood."
So the three of them went into the Sitting Room and Grandma Lu started her story saying, "Well, a long long time ago there was a man whose name was Harvey Wilcox.

 He got very sick when he was just a teenager and was never able to walk after that. He spent his whole life in a wheelchair.  He and his first wife moved from the eastern part of our country to Kansas. He used to  make shoes. Isn't that something? Guess what? My husband and his brother used to make shoes too years and years ago. Marlee couldn't believe it. She asked lots of questions that Grandma Lu couldn't answer. "Hmm, Grandma Lu thought.  I had better watch what I say around Marlee. She is so smart and wants answers to everything. Answers that I don't have."

"Well, anyway his wife got sick and went to California to see if she could get better. It is very warm there and they have lots of fruit trees there too. The doctors thought that maybe she would get better there, but she did not."
 Marlee said, "What's a fruit tree?"
Grandma Lu gave her friend Grandma B another look and thought, "This little girl is growing up so fast I just can't believe it." She then explained that lots of fruit like oranges, lemons, apples, and grapefruit grow on trees just like her Grandma B's persimmon trees. The weather is just perfect for them to grow out there.

"Years later he married another lady and they moved to California. They traveled there by train. Guess what, Marlee? He loved his horses so much that he rode in the baggage car with them all the way from Kansas to California. That trip took several days. Just a minute, I think there is a book somewhere around here that has pictures of old trains in it. Let me look. Yes, here it is. This is what they called a baggage car. People's suitcases and sometimes animals would ride in there. I wonder what his wife thought of him riding with his horses and not with her."

"These horses are called Arabians. I'm not sure if these were the breed of horses Mr. Wilcox loved or not, but these two horses are beautiful aren't they? They were first found in the desert thousands of years ago. The people that owned them lived in tents. They loved their horses so much that they would let them live in their tents with them to keep them safe."

"Would you let your horse sleep in a tent with you at night?"
Marlee giggled and said, "No, let's go to Hollywood, Grandma Lu."