Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Anne Frank Game

I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house as a child.  We lived with them for nearly a year when I was four.

At some point, my grandmother told me the story of Anne Frank, minus the part where they all get caught and sent to concentration camps. 

I became deeply fascinated by Anne Frank, and Meemaw invented a game in which I was Anne Frank and she was some other, less glamorous member of the family.  We'd sneak upstairs and try to be as still and quiet as possible.


Inevitably, Meemaw's role in the game would require that she go downstairs to fend off some Nazis or stage a rendezvous with the German neighbor who smuggled us our groceries.




Meanwhile, I stuck to my post in the secret annex, thinking how nice Meemaw was to play the lesser role that involved going downstairs to the boring part of the house.


Eventually, Meemaw would return from the perilous outside world with a snack she'd scavenged.


The Nazis always lost the war just in time for Rugrats, or dinner, or both.




When I think of the Anne Frank game now, I am in awe of my grandmother's ingenious ploy to keep me out of trouble for hours at a time and simultaneously teach me about World War II.


14 comments:

  1. Ah! This is both adorable, and hilarious! Love it Hayley!!

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  2. This is like the longest version of the quiet game ever, except more disturbing. I love your grandma,

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  3. I used to play a very similar game by myself. I wish I had a Meemaw to bring me cookies. It got lonely.

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  4. Brilliant! I'm employing Meemaw's technique tomorrow. Better hone up on my 3rd Reich knowledge for credibility in keeping the kids in the closet all day.

    Please don't report me.

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  5. Your grandmother is the smartest woman to walk the face of the Earth. I am totally going to employ some of her tactics with Tall and Short. I will let you know how it turns out!

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  6. Cute and very funny-good job Haley!

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  7. LOVE it. I am in awe of your Grandmother's cunning. Can't wait til my kids are old enough for me to try that!

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  8. I love your Meemaw. How's your book about her coming along?

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  9. Best version of the quiet game ever!!!

    Princess WeeWee

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  10. Stephanie, it's going well! This is actually something I was thinking about including in it. I love getting feedback as I go along.

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  11. The girl used to get my mom and sister to play Amish with her. Where she'd go and clean in the dark [because no electricity, duh.].

    I can't believe she found that game fun, or that her aunt and grandmother would play along.

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  12. Hahahaha, I guess she left out the kissing a cute boy bit also, dratted clever Meemaws.

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  13. So funny - and I didn't see the end coming - that she was using it to keep you quiet! Very ingenious Meemaw!

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