The power of words can be a wonderful thing. Or not. Grandfathers are people who wield this power, and sometimes those words become tall tales accepted as truth.

My husband, the grandfather at the centre of this story, is the eldest child in his family, nine years older than his youngest sister. You can tell this won’t go well for her, right? While in early elementary school, she once asked what a World War II air show was. Her older brother helpfully explained that they had captured air from important battles in WWII and placed it in tents. Visitors to the air show could enter those tents and smell the air. As far as tall tales go, that’s a pretty fantastic one. And she bought it—until she went to school and shared her newfound knowledge. Not surprisingly, her classmates ridiculed her for her efforts. After another tale or two, his sibling developed trust issues with her eldest brother. I can’t imagine why.

Fast forward many decades, and that elder brother of yore is now a grandfather. And he’s still telling tall tales to unsuspecting little people, only now, they are his grandchildren. He doesn’t always realize the power of his words until they appear in a different context. Allow me to illustrate that point.

Our six-year-old grandson recently received an ant farm for his birthday. Desperate to view the busy world of ants, he collected a lone specimen from our yard and transported it home using our plastic bug bucket. For those who do not collect bugs, it is a small, clear plastic bucket with air holes and a magnifying glass lid. The first captive escaped, most likely through an air hole, and the second met its demise with the assistance of the collector’s older sister. His third attempt was successful, and he coddled his new friend, enclosed in its clear world, all the way home. New to this hobby, it didn’t occur to the budding farmer that building a colony with only one ant might be problematic.

His mother was less than thrilled when we arrived with his acquisition and refused its entry into the house. After providing an alternative plan for populating the farm, she accompanied him outside to deposit his “friend” in their yard. The disappointed future agriculturist grudgingly complied. After bidding farewell to his hopes and dreams, the six-year-old asked this startling question: “Do I get hair on my chest now?”

Pardon?? As a quiet bystander observing this drama, I almost laughed out loud. But he was serious. Our daughter informed him it would not happen, and he scampered away. She turned to me, shrugged, and said he had also asked the same question at lunch. Wheels were turning in that little head somewhere.

Later, understanding dawned, and I realized why this odd question had arisen. More than once, Grandpa had said, “Eat it. It will put hair on your chest,” when his grandson had objected to eating some less-than-favourite food at our table. Who knew the child would take it to heart and assume it was a reward for complying with an undesirable request? The teller of tall tales hadn’t anticipated his nonsensical words, which many fathers in previous generations used to tell their children (yes, girls too), becoming a tall tale accepted as truth.

While on the journey from our house to his that same afternoon, the ever-quizzical child asked how the steering wheel made the wheels of the car turn. His helpful older sister quickly chimed in with a response. Gnomes were under the car, and when the steering wheel turned, they moved the wheels. The tendency to invent tall tales must be genetic. That poor little boy probably has more impediments than most children to arriving at adulthood without a skewed view of the world. But it is fun!

I wonder what other tall tales Grandpa has told his grandchildren that will appear in unexpected conversations as they mature. Good luck, kids. Your grandmother has a soft heart and might occasionally rescue you from future embarrassment, but I wouldn’t always count on it. After all, she told her children that a statue of a WWII soldier was wearing an old-fashioned jetpack [knapsack]!

Thank you for using your valuable time to laugh with our family.