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84 Questions for 84 Years of Grandma Gail · Excuse My Grandma

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Excuse My Grandma. Today, I'm at Grandma Gail's apartment because it's her 80 birthday and we're going to ask her 84 questions.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Hi, Grandma. Hi, good morning, sweetheart. I'm going
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: to ask you some questions today, if that's okay.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: I know. I've got my mic on. Okay, let's start
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: with an easy one. Coffee or tea? Coffee. You know,
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: I love coffee in the morning.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah. You're instant coffee. Are you a morning person
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: or a night owl? I am a morning person. I don't, I stay up a little bit late, but I liked morning the best. What's your favorite color? My favorite color, I think, is pink.
• 0:56
  Like your sweater. Like your sweater, season? Actually. Spring. Spring.
• 1:02
  Look at my spring candies. I have all pink and reds in here. Cute. Or came and I didn't even know. Speaking of, sweet or savory?
• 1:12
  Sweet. Heels or flats? Flats because I can't really walk in heels anymore. Beach or mountains? The beach.
• 1:21
  I love the beach. I don't sit in the sun, but I love the air and I love the smell of the beach. What's your favorite flower? Orchids.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Of course. Favorite dessert? Favorite dessert?
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: I guess vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce. Anywhere. Yum. It's always the best. Favorite day of the week?
• 1:39
  The favorite day of the week, I think would be Saturday. What's your favorite holiday? My favorite holiday, I think would be Hanukkah because I love latkes. Not your birthday? No, not my birthday.
• 1:53
  That's not a holiday.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: I didn't make that a national day yet. Fine. Favorite song of all time?
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: New York, New York. What's your favorite movie? Gone with the Wind.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Favorite meal to cook? I know you're not a cook, but No.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: My favorite meal would be pasta with tomato sauce, and I eat that everywhere.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: What's your favorite thing to wear?
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: I guess pants and a sweater. I'm not a big dress person anymore. One word to describe yourself? Confident in my own skin. That's not one word.
• 2:30
  I guess confident. See, I'm trying to move these books so that they'll be perfectly straight. I think I'm becoming very, very what do they call that? Anal? Anal.
• 2:39
  Yeah. Correct.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: I told you
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: that. Correct. Everything has to be right. I like my pillows fluff. I like the books correct.
• 2:46
  I like my bowl in the right place. I know when somebody's been around and moving things around that I don't like. I see that candle over there.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: What's your favorite smell? You know what?
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: I don't even know what that candle is. It probably is a candle from Hotel Decap. No, I think that's I have that candle. Oh, you're right. It's Jo Malone.
• 3:04
  And I don't oh, it's delicious. I think it's Gardena. It's marvelous.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: It's delicious. Speaking of Du Cap, what's the favorite place you've ever been?
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: That probably is one of my favorite places because I love it there. It reminds me of when I was very young and wore bathing suits all the time.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Is there a place you still want to go?
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the same places. I still love Paris. I still love, actually I love Morocco. I would go back there in minute. I loved it.
• 3:33
  I love the people. I love the smells. I love the
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: food. What makes you instantly happy?
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: Instantly happy is being with my grandchildren, especially you lately. Lately. Maybe not last week, but this week. Yes. What did you wear on your wedding day?
• 3:51
  White dress, a beautiful white gown. I got married at 21. I deserve to be in a white gown.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Who was the most stylish person in your life? Probably my mom.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: My mom always was really looked wonderful no matter what day or what she was feeling.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Do you
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: want a glass of orange juice, Henny? Maybe later. Thank you. Oh, okay. No servings.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Is there a trend that you loved?
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: I love most of my friends. Trend? Oh, trends? Oh, I think I need a hearing aid. Trends.
• 4:26
  I don't know if I'm big on trends. I don't really love trends. What about
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: a trend you're glad is gone?
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: Oh, glad that's gone. I guess I don't know. A little better. I don't know what's gone, Kim, in trends. I I really don't I never followed a trend, so I don't really know.
• 4:45
  But probably that grunge look, which I never loved or a goth look, which I never thought looked good on anybody. Is that maybe a vampire?
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: I get that. Is there a trend you wish would come back?
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah. The little black dress. No. It never went away. Yeah.
• 5:03
  But sometimes people forget about it.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: What does elegance mean to you? Simple.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: Whatever is simple and beautiful. What's your signature look? White shirt, sweater and pants.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Is there something you would never wear?
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: I should never say never, but probably a puffy shirt because I'm so short that it would really not do me justice.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: How's fashion changed the most?
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Well, fashion has become much more wearable for everybody and everybody can wear it because high style is instantly bought to become commercial with all the new stores like Azara and H and M. They you know, everybody can be stylish.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Did you ever break fashion rules?
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Not really. Maybe in college once or twice, but I don't even remember it. It was so long ago, Kim.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: What's the most meaningful item you've worn or owned?
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: Oh, something that probably my mother has given me.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: What's something everyone should have in their closet?
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: Look how cute you are, Kim, when you were in high school. Aw. So cute. And your brother, how tall and handsome. I hated that outfit.
• 6:16
  What outfit? One when you Your cap and gown.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: No. The one when he was graduating.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: Oh, well, he didn't really have a graduation. It was COVID that was in your in the backyard.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah. What makes something or someone truly beautiful?
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: I think just a smile on their face and actually really good skin. And this is in the wrong closet. Oh, but I I love know. I was thinking of wearing it for my birthday. Oh, cute.
• 6:42
  Yeah. Maybe with pants. That's maybe why I had it in this closet. I'm gonna hang it up here. This is this is my get dressed moment.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Got by the way, confidence or style, which matters more?
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: I think confidence projects style. If you have good confidence, you can carry off anything.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: What did you look for when finding a husband?
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Could he make a good living? Because I was very expensive even when I was 21. What
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: was your first impression of him? Was very smart.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: He was very smart, and I figured we'd be good together. You know, back in the day, we didn't know if we were it was gonna be good or bad. We took chances. We didn't live together, so we didn't know.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Who said I love you first? She did. Of course. How did he, how did you
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: know he was the one? My mother told me.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: Secret to a lasting relationship?
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Secret to a laughing relationship, I guess would be compromise and forgiving little issues in your lives. Little things shouldn't become overblown into big issues. What's the best date you ever had? Oh, I think when I was I guess in my early twenties and I came into New York City and saw a show and went for dinner. I thought that was extravagant and wonderful.
• 8:01
  I love this picture of you and Poppy. Oh my gosh. This was, in the early 2000s. We were in India and that was a great trip. That's a special place to go.
• 8:13
  Everybody should go at least once in their lives. It's an experience. What's the hardest part of love? Sometimes forgiving things that are said and not dwell on things that might have hurt your feelings.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: Most romantic things someone has done for you?
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: I think every day is romantic.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: What does love mean to you now?
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: My family and being together.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Do you advice for someone looking for love?
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: My advice for someone who is looking for love, just find, be happy within yourself. If you are happy within yourself, you will find a partner that will also be equally happy. And don't worry about it, it all evolves, everybody has it, everybody gets it. If you were on Hinge, what prompt would you use? I don't even know what a prompt is.
• 9:00
  I think that answers my question. What keeps a marriage exciting? What keeps a marriage exciting is to be exciting yourself and do things that are interesting so that your partner can, and you can share different experiences. Experience is very important in a relationship. You want to do things together to share memories about.
• 9:21
  Speaking of memories, I know in that closet you have so many albums. Oh my gosh, Kimberly, this this is really sinful. Most people don't have these kind of closets, but mine are all albums. All albums from when your mom was little, your uncle was little and you and your other
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: Family members. Siblings. Love different now than it was then?
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: No, think love is always the same. What matters most in a partner? What matters most in a partner? I think just being good together and hopefully making something of a future together. If you're not on the same page, you're not gonna have a life.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Would you do it all the
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: same again? Probably. Maybe make a few minor adjustments. A few things here
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: and there. What's the biggest change you've seen in the world?
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: Well, the biggest change is unfortunately social media has given everybody a plank to talk about what they wanna talk about and not listen to anybody else, but that's life. Something that never changes? Something that never changes, hopefully, your love for family. Something young people get wrong. They put too much emphasis on the material side of what their job could do and not really put a good effort into what the actual job is.
• 10:43
  Something young people get right? That they have loads of different opportunities and they start their careers and they're very serious about them. What are your
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: thoughts on social media? I know you
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: talked about that a little, but you're on it. So I'm on it and I like it, but I think it can be a little destructive if it's in the wrong hands and also if it's obsessive and you watch it constantly, especially with teenagers. What was life like without technology? You know what? I don't know.
• 11:12
  I sort of probably think it was probably better or maybe it wasn't better. It was just, for older people, it's more difficult to work it. Younger people live with it and understand it. But everything gets better when things are created more efficiently. So every new challenge, AI is the next new challenge.
• 11:30
  Everything is always a newness, and that's good. The world is changing. Is there a
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: moment that shaped who you are?
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: I think just having a family.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: What is
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: the hardest lesson you've learned about life? The hardest lesson is when illness, comes into your life and you have to learn how to survive it and, and hopefully conquer it. And if you can't conquer it to live the best life you could. Best advice you've ever received. Keep the glass.
• 12:03
  Always think about the glass being half full, not half empty. Don't be negative. Negativity spawns more negativity. Not good. What's advice you wish you followed sooner?
• 12:14
  Not anything that I would have followed sooner, but, I think it's just, more of the same.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: What does success mean to you? Success means,
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: I don't know, basically making everyone around me happy and actually fulfilling my own potential now working with you. What are you most proud of us? No, I'm most proud of my family. A risk you're glad that you took? Well, a risk that I took is working with you because you never know where I'm going and what I'm doing.
• 12:50
  But it has panned out. I love it. It's more fun than I could have ever imagined. And I thank you for it, sweetheart.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: A regret you've made peace with?
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: A lot of stuff, but I don't think we need to go into those regrets. I don't like to look back at regrets. There's no point. What keeps you going? What keeps me going?
• 13:12
  Life is good. And I want to want to spend my life with the people I love and fix my pillows so that they're always fluffed. Always karate chopping. Always karate chopping. And that I can enjoy this room for another holiday, another year.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: What does happiness mean to you now?
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: Getting up in the morning, feeling good and being with the ones I love.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: When do you feel most like yourself?
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: I guess in the morning after I've had my first cup
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: of coffee. That's relatable. A moment you'd relive if you could? I don't know if
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: there's anything I'd really like to relive. I think I'm happy the way I lived it, and I'm looking on to another day, another thing.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: What would you tell your younger self?
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: My younger self may be to not get married as young as I did and to do something else. But that was a different time when you didn't do that. So I'm very happy with the way things turned out. What do you wish people understood about life? That life is not always a steady road and you have uphills and downhills in it and you have to learn how to cope with it.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: What scares you, if anything?
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: That I don't have enough time to do all the things I really want to do. But I I I don't spend too much time thinking about that. What's the worst outfit I've ever worn, but you
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: were scared to tell me?
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: There have been a lot.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: Oh my god.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: There have been a lot of those outfits. You know what? I don't think any of them are that important that I would have to tell you. It's part of having fun and learning your own style.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: How often do you sit in this room?
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: Once a year. I just said that. Once a year with my family on the
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: high holidays. What legacy do you want to leave?
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: That she lived her life as best as she could and had a good time while doing it.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: Who had the biggest impact on your life?
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: My brother. He was the most uplifting and the most creative person I knew, and I loved spending time with him. He was fun every minute of the day. I took a I had a laugh.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: What are you still curious about?
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: What am I still curious about? I guess my next bridge hand. If I'm going to win or
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: lose, that's very, very important. What's the most outdated thing in this apartment?
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: Oh, I think a lot of things are probably outdated, but probably that broken television that I tried to use for for when people were over. And now we had the Verizon many all day and they still the television is not working. The box is working very, very serious.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: Did she be not any of
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: the antiques? No, my everything here I sort of like. I like it's a compilation of of different times of different apartments that I had different times of different interior designers, and I'm very happy with it. What is turning 84 feel like? It feels like I'm getting old and I want to push that back as much as I can so I want to think young.
• 16:14
  What's one rule you live by? Don't leave something undone that you want to have done. If there's something you want to confront, do it today because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. What's a good life look like? A good life looks like all these pictures here.
• 16:33
  They're all the people I loved. Your great grandparents, us, your siblings and you when you were 18 at Disney World. 21.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: 21? My 20 birthday. Oh,
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: right. Still kissing Mickey. Yeah, always. Oh my gosh. Anyway, those are all the good things that you want to remember.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: What's something you still want to do?
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I've done most of the things I really want to do. So now it's just doing things that I enjoy. I don't really have any major goal in unless it's going to be to take over some newscasters position, which I don't think they're gonna hire an 84 year old to do
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: the You are. You're you are a columnist. Well, I'm a
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: columnist, but I'd like to go on national television as a news personality. Oh gosh. I don't know. You know I would be very strict on that. What have you learned about men?
• 17:32
  Are just like women. They want to be happy. And if you give each other a reason to be happy, they're exactly the same. Nobody wants to be either better or less. Everybody is exactly on the same level.
• 17:46
  What advice would you give to everyone in our family? Keep cool. Keep cool. Tomorrow's another day. Don't stress the small stuff.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Do you have a final thought in one sentence?
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: Final thought in one sentence is to do lots of stuff with you, honey.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's cute.
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah. That's what I want to do for my 80 birthday.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: Well, we're doing it. We have such fun plans.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: Yes, we do. Okay. Now I have to go play cards.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: You're kicking me out? Yeah.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: I'm going to give you back the mic and it's gone. All right. Well, thanks for having me over. Okay, sweetheart. See you later.
• 18:20
  Birthday. Thank you.