Monday, November 17, 2008

Grandpa Bill

So, a few of you might know this already, but my maternal grandfather died Sunday November 9. Grandpa Bill was obviously really important to me and all of my family, and I thought I would share some of my "best" memories of my last grandparent. 20 hours in a car each way gave me plently of time to think about these :)

1. Granpda pretty much taught me to cuss. Every other word or phrase out of his mouth was something like "shit", "sonofabitch" (said all together with no pauses), or "gdamn" (unedited :)). Grandpa also shared the word "housebitch" with me in the last couple of years, which is now a favorite among my coworkers. If you've been around me much, you know Grandpa taught me well.



2. I love bridges. Grandpa lived in Richmond, CA when I was little and we had to cross the Carquinez Bridge to see him. The Carquinez Bridge has a beautiful view of the bay and I remember clamoring for a seat on the right side of the car so I could see the water and look for sharks on the way to his house. Even though my Grandpa hasn't lived in CA for 20 years, whenever I cross that bridge I stare into the water below and think of visiting Grandpa.



3. Grandpa always had 2 packs of Wrigley's gum in his front pocket. Mom didn't let us have gum very often, so going to grandpa's we could pretty much have as much as we wanted. Even the smell of doublemint gum still reminds me of grandpa.

This also remind me of grandpa's generosity. Whenever we needed or wanted something, he did what he could to help us. I wouldn't say he spoiled us in the traditional sense; he certainly wasn't just handing over cash and toys to us. But I always knew if I had ever REALLY needed to borrow money I could have gone to him. And I didn't have to worry about money when I visited. He would buy the things we needed and certainly wouldn't let us pay at restaurants (and he loved to eat out). I think I only ever brought $20 with me for those month long trips when I was a kid; Grandpa took care of the rest.



4. Whenever my sister Billie and I got to stay the night at Grandpa's we would get to wear Grandma Edna's nightgowns. Edna was our step-grandma and was a much smaller woman than anyone in our family, so when we were 8 or 9 we weren't that much smaller than Edna. Edna had lots of those silky old lady nightgowns, but we thought we were such big girls when we got to wear them.

5. Grandpa moved to Sierra Vista, AZ (about 10 miles from Mexico) when I was about 10, I think. Me and Billie got to go for the Summer. We flew there (our first airplane ride!) and rode with them in their huge motor home on the way back. (Maybe it was the other way around ??) I remeber going to Mexico (my first trip out of the country), going camping and hiking at the Chiricahua National Monument, Tombstone, and going shopping. I also remember grandpa telling me I could eat whatever I wanted that summer if I promised to go on a diet when I got home :P




6. When I was 13 and 17 I spent a month of my summer vacation in Arkansas (Grandpa moved back home after a couple of years in AZ). I flew there all by myself and this felt like a great adventure. For me, Arkansas is a magical place; green as can be, beautiful views, lots of water, and lots of family. I loved the sounds of crickets and frogs at night. I loved sitting on porch swings at both of my grandparent's houses and reading novels. Grandpa bought my plane tickets nd I will be eternally grateful for that; if it wasn't for him those trips wouldn't have been possible. I got to know my grandparents and my aunts, uncles, and cousins so much better because of those trips.





7. When I was 21 my ENTIRE family went. Whew, what a trip. I'm sure that was pretty overwhelming for Grandpa and Edna (and Grandma too) but they all took it in stride. We had lots of fun with grandpa on his 4-wheelers. Boy, could he drive those suckers!



8. I went to Arkansas again last summer for about 10 days and was able to spend a lot of time with Grandpa and Edna. We took Edna to the hospital the night I arrived and most of my time was spent with Grandpa taking care of Edna in the hospital. She died a few weeks after I left and I will forever treasure my last face to face visit with both of them.

I will also forver remember driving on the 4-wheelers with my cousins to feed grandpa's catfish. I think there were 4 of us on that 4-wheeler and my little cousins drive a lot crazier than I would ever even think about. Than we would throw these little white pellets of food into the pond and the catfish would go wild; it looked like a little pond quake with all of them rushing to the food. Fun, fun, fun!



9. I love love LOVE grandpa's house in Arkansas. It looks just like any good southern home should. White house, pillars, wrap around porch, and a porch swing. All sitting on a piece of land as pretty as I've ever seen with a body of water in the background (Grandpa's water is an off shoot of the Arkansas river). There are only 3 bedrooms inside but they're all huge with huge double closets and fantastic views. The stairs are good and wide and almost impossible to fall down :) If I could build a house, it would be very very much like this house (with maybe a couple more bedrooms, though).

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Tired!

So, I know I'm beating a dead horse and I am completely tired of all the election hooplah also, but a guy at work sent me this fantastic link. It lets you pick which issues are important to you and how you feel about them, and after it tells you which candidate most closely resembles your views. I thought it was interesting!

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/poll.php?race_id=13