As a youngster I had a tradition with my grandfather Lon. He would wax philosophical, finish up and say, "Kapish?" Then, he'd wait for me to reply, "Kapish!" It was a little ritual between the two of us; his "kapish?" was making sure I was still right there in agreement with him; a question for affirmation: "Do you understand?" My declaration was one of solidarity, "kapish!," yes, I still agree and buy into everything you are telling me! I was razzed by my sister, Marianne, about Lon playing favoritism towards me and she was probably right. I was a bit of a tomboy and Lon had been an amazing athlete so I loved hearing about his college football days and trophies from track! I was also a dutiful foot soldier and never questioned him or his (sometimes nutty) theories! Sometimes he would extol the virtues of outlandish things like his oft repeated diatribe on the superiority of the state of Texas over the state of Utah!
Rather than make waves, after his explanation of how the Salt Lake freeways were abysmal compared to the beautiful roads in Houston, I would simply confirm with a hearty "kapish!" I suppose Lon was an early object lesson that there is no point in arguing/disagreeing with some people (the KIA people - Know It Alls).
Lon was a funny Grandfather figure. Since my Dad was an only child, my four siblings and I were his only grandchildren. I looked up to Lon in many ways but I also knew at some level that he was a character and a little flawed (for example, he'd been married 5 times). But I enjoyed his attention so I continued the ruse even when if I didn't kapish, understand or agree with his intolerance of people and places. He was kind of a classic curmudgeon (which I found endearing but I know some family members found annoying).
I overheard someone say "Kapish" recently and it instantly took me back 40 years! Sometimes a single word conjures up all kinds of memories! Whenever I hear "kapish" I will always think of my grandfather Lon. And, since I haven't shared the story of those dialogue exchanges between my kid self and my (deceased in 1987) paternal grandfather, I just wanted to reminisce a bit. In a funny sort of way. Kapish?
