Grand Daddy - Part 2
(at the cabin at the lake about 4 years ago with my Dad and Grandmother)
My Grand dad was a hoot. He was a "pastor" for over 20 years and though he taught me that God loved me, God would take care of me and all sorts of other things about the Lord.....it's all the other craziness that I remember first. It was ironic at the funeral home that half of the people there were from churches he'd pastored and wanted to talk about he had ministered to them in times of sickness, sadness or death in their own families. How he was always there for them and helped them in their struggles. While that is comforting and an amazing legacy, it was the other half that I related to more. The half that told me stories of hunting dogs, pranks as a youngster, teaching someone how to smoke (enough to make them sick to be sure he wouldn't do it again) and his sly sense of humor.
I'm not sure how his sense of humor was the day i said my first cuss word...to him of all people..i decided to share my Mom's favorite word when.. as patting him with my hands on both cheeks, it's rumored my exact words were "Momma says our chickens have been shittin' in our yard"... he he he...oops.
I didn't ask my Gdad to preform our wedding, I wanted him to be just my Gdaddy bless his heart... he was a long winded one... he was asked to say an opening prayer though....and got his FULL 15 MINUTES of words in........
Gdad was a bird hunter. He always wanted me to have a shot gun and that sent my Mom into a tizzy for sure (never fear, I am the proud owner of a collection now). He wanted to take me hunting and I would BEG my Mom - who wouldn't have it. I would stand on the back porch of their house and wait for him to come in and be totally entranced as he'd take the dead birds out of his hunting jacket pocket and lay them out for me. Then, as
any little girl would (ha) I would stand there and watch while he would de-feather, cut, gut and slice up the birds!! I'd of course anxiously await Thursday night when Gmother would cook fried quail for supper! (welcome to the south - yall)
Andy ended up with a bird dog for a couple of years and he went with Grand Dad hunting. One of GDads last trips hunting as a matter of fact. Andy said as they FLEW through downtown Powder Springs (where the speed limit is 25 - he always drove fast) he was terrified they were going to get pulled over. (No worries though, he talked his way out of tickets ALL the time. He'd pull the "you know I am a pastor over at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church"...those boys were always suckers and let him go)!! Andy said they'd pull up to the side of the road, near neighborhoods and Gdad would say "I use to hunt here all the time"...of course that was 25 years ago and way before the neighborhood. GDad would make Andy get out (who was scared again) and off they'd go...let the dogs out...shoot a few times out beside a neighborhood and get in the truck and be off again..... Good grief!!
However under that hunting vest or jacket and pants, were his typical "Sunday" clothes. Every day of his life, until 2 & 1/2 years ago when he got sick, he wore dress pants and a white shirt. If he was going to work outside in the garden that provided us with more food than we could eat or sometimes give away too - help Dad with rental property work - cut the grass on his lawnmower going faster than you've ever seen anyone cut grass, while missing huge spots - hilarious - plant flowers, paint, whatever... he'd always have on those "Sunday" clothes under a pair of painter overalls or some other get up..
Here he is fishing with Dad and I one day...it was a HUGE experience just getting out to this little lake, it was FREEZING cold and the wind was blowing, but ... gotta love him... look how he's dressed...that tiny little fishing pole is one that I bought him for Christmas...he hadn't used one in his entire life other than a cane pole when he was little...I got him a little one with a push button and had to teach him how to use it...sooo fun
Picture at my parents wedding, which took place in my Mom's parent's home...funny...no one but my Dad has big smiles, cracks me up.. my Gdad NEVER smiled in pictures...he would give a "smirk" in a few, but most were the serious face...funny because he smiled all the time
When I came "home" from the hospital, Mom & I actually came to her parents house for a week...here is Gmother & Gdad when they came to visit... I know beyond a shadow of a doubt (because I was told more than once) that Gdad prayed for me every day...from before I was born until the end when he couldn't do it anymore....that's a hard thing to loose, how many people could say that? how blessed am I??!!!
Here is my 2nd Christmas, a baby doll from gdad... every year of my life I got a stuffed animal or baby doll from my gdad, unwrapped...laying on his bed in his bedroom, i had to go in there and get it....this year i got a purple care bear....the first year he had cancer, I got two (the only year ever) it was a barbie doll and a baby doll...you'll notice the pipe hanging out of his mouth...he smoked cigarettes when he was younger, switched to a pipe and stopped when he was called to be a pastor....lung cancer took both of my Gdads from me and a father in law...you guys who still smoke, PLEASE STOP... I love you!
Here I am with him Christmas of 2005
Here is one from a fishing trip that just he and I took to a little pond on the land of a family friend. We had so much fun and it was hilarious. He wasn't a big fisherman, but sure wanted to be. Why? Because Andy loves to fish and I had taken it up to spend time with him. It's not my favorite thing mind you, but something that I could do and spend time with Andy. Grand Dad found out that I was fishing more and the next thing I knew he had fishing trips lined up for me all over the place. We went from pond to pond, both of us pretty much stinking at it... but enjoying the time together!! You'll notice the fishing attire he has on, again!
I wish I had a picture of him on the phone, why don't I have one like that? He was on the phone ALL of the time. You could NEVER get through to their house, the line was always busy. I never had to worry about calling him though. Since I was old enough to talk on the phone, he called me every day of my life. If we were out of town, that was about the only reason he wouldn't call. Now..these conversations were SHORT!! He wanted to touch base daily, but not "lolly-gag" around. In college, he called every day. My room-mates began to get the idea with his 30 second calls. Then I got married and Andy was amazed... He calls daily, but for less than a minute, cracked him up. There are days when we'd talk longer, but more often than not he was just checking in. He didn't say goodbye either, EVER on the phone!! He would talk, you would talk, he would talk and if you thought of something else to say...SORRY, because he was usually done and there would be a statement and a click ... hilarious! It's funny that anyone whose been around my house long, knows about the phone calls from Grand Daddy...I miss those already~
How could I not mention duck tape, the man thought it could fix ANYTHING. I have never seen such and have to laugh just thinking about all the places I've seen it over the years. Too many to think about mentioning!! Canning food too, the man would put anything in a jar that would fit! He was Chief Jelly/Jam/Perserve maker, pickle pickler and pepper canner. Our shelves here are full as I speak and GDads bedroom has a book shelf in it that is filled to the brim! There were trips to the "dime store" as a kiddo and trips out to lunch from work as a grown up. There was the fact that he carried me until "your feet drug the ground" so I am told as I grew up and I would say "tote me, tote me"..he would. There were hours spent watching hunting shows, hunting home videos and animal planets funniest videos. There were rides to look at Christmas lights, time spent shelling peas on the front porch and rocking to "watch the world go by".
When I moved home from college I rented a house from him, just 1/2 a mile down the road. He worked so hard in getting that house ready with help from Mom, Dad and me of course. He painted, cleaned, bought me new appliances and worked his 70something rear off. He LOVED having a garden and with TWO houses to plant one at... he was in heaven already. My back yard was HUGE there and he filled it with a HUGE garden! I kept reminding him there was no way in the world we could ever eat or give away that much food. I'm pretty sure that's why after a few years, I still don't eat corn on the cobb!! We had a good time together though-
I could go on and on, but know that I better wrap it up. I miss him so much it makes my heart hurt! I hope this gives you just a glimpse of the quirky (I never did get into his sly, boyish sense of humor...and that "huh huh huh" sarcastic laugh of his) and amazing man that was my Grand daddy. He was something else that's for sure! Thanks for sticking with me through the memories.....
