Grandma says: "We don’t own a cat, we don’t own Koi, we don’t have cats or dogs or birds, not even fish, so we have each other."

Rose E. Brett was the unofficial poet laureate of Hollenbeck Palms, and in 1946 a small selection of her light verse was published in pamphlet form as "Homespun Rhymes." The price was $1. We were lucky enough to find a copy of this scarce volume at Caravan Book Store, the last survivor of downtown LA's book row.

According to the records of Hollenbeck, Rose and her husband Cyrus Willard Brett moved into the home on July 6, 1934. Cyrus died in 1938, and Rose stayed on until her own death on October 19, 1948.

This is the first of a series of blog posts presenting the sweet, forgotten, and still very timely rhymes of Rose E. Brett of Hollenbeck. We hope you love them as much as the OGs do!

AIR RAID AND BLACKOUT by Rose E. Brett

Hurrah! Hurrah for "Hollenbeck!" This is the place
for me; I'm sure there is no other Home where I'd
prefer to be. They "eat us" and they "sleep us,"
they keep the place so clean; they tend us in our
sick spells, and amuse us in between. They send us
to the oculist, who assists us by refraction, or
it may be to the dentist, who relieves us by extrac-
tion. All this they're doing every day – no end of
care they take, but now they're doing something
new which surely takes the cake. When Japan at-
tacked our Islands without a bit of warning, we knew
we might expect them here some blooming night or
morning. What can we do? Where shall we go? What
is our best protection? Again the managers step
in with plans quite near perfection. The man who
planned this building must have been a "right
smart feller," for underneath the building is a
first rate air raid cellar. For black-out and
for shelter they gave us our instructions—of
course it raised a little breeze, and caused a few
slight ructions. And some refused to "douse the
glim," they had to USE the light; and some were bound
to lock their doors, as they always do at night.
And one would never, never go to that dungeon, cold

The OGs invite you to Click this link and see them in a whole new light.

Visit Barbara's Yelp Page, where she just reviewed the dining room at Hollenbeck Palms. This is where you can find the OGs at almost every meal. Want to know how to make an OG Frappucino? Click and all will be revealed!

The OGs think the internet is incredible.&magic (at least according to their Twitter feed)--and even more so when their grandkids help them to immerse themselves in the wonders of Youtube, and old Quiznos Subs ads featuring the hideously adorable Spongmonkeys. Tune in for the OGs' video tribute to these dear little rodents, and the yummy, toasty subs they promote. Hey Quiznos: grandma wears a size 5 1/2 shoe, if you want to send her some of her favorite Keds mules as a thank you!

The OGs love clowning around, but let's be honest: sometimes it's hard to remember how a joke goes. So rather than pestering them to tell us their favorite jokes, in this edition of The OGs blog we're bringing the jokes to them. Watch their faces as they register these vintage Henny Youngman gags that they first enjoyed in the Eisenhower era. Finally, we understand why PopPop insists on holding Barbara's hand whenever they leave the house!

When the grandchildren show up with the Jewish Journal, hot off the presses and featuring an article about this blog, the OGs are bemused but beaming. After 90-some years, who'd ever have predicted they'd become online celebrities? Come along with us as we share the happy news with Boyle Heights' hippest nonagenarians.

Do you remember being a little kid and trying so hard to stay awake until midnight to see in the New Year? Well, when you are 90-something years old, you'll have that problem again. At Hollenbeck Palms, where the OGs live, one solution is to set the clocks wayyyyy back and throw a Fantasy New Years Eve Party, right after the mid-day meal. Come along with PopPop as he follows the festive sounds to find a New Years Eve party like none you have ever seen.

The Hollenbeck Palms Hanukkah party provides an opportunity for The OGs to reflect upon the meaning of the holiday, memories of good food and good company, and even for a couple of songs. "Everyone knows the Dreidel Song," says Poppop... but it's not that simple.