Half a stick

Today as I was walking across campus, someone offered me a half a stick of gum. Immediately I was taken back to my childhood.

My Granddaddy (my father's father) was my best friend. We did absolutely everything together. His house was right next door to mine and I would go visit my grandparents everyday. While my Nanny was in the house cooking or cleaning, I was typically out on the farm with my granddaddy. He had an old Ford tractor, it was grey and red. He made a lift type thing for the back of it with a seat for me to sit on as he drove around the farm. I remember his old station wagon that I called a "grocery getter" as I got older. It was yellow and brown. The back would open up and seats were there. I loved it when he let me ride in the very back. I remember his black tool box in the back of his old green pick up truck. It didn't have seat belts and when we rode around I felt "cool" cause there were no seat belts.

My grandfather taught me many things. He taught me how to drive a tractor. He taught me how to plant a garden. He taught me how to laugh. When I was just a young child... always hanging around him.. I learned how to say a quote that has stuck with me forever. If I did something wrong, I would yell "Hell, dumb, damn, stupid, EB." Granddaddy thought it was so funny, because EB was my mother's father. (You know how families are.)

My grandfather was a meticulous man. Everything had its place. I think he learned this when he served in the Coast Guard. I remember his basement and one side had a wall of tools. Everything had a place to hang, and he always knew if something was missing. There were a few important things on that wall. He had several pictures of his family. And then there was an empty cigarette box. On it, was written: Last Box November 1, 1982.

I grew up looking at this box hanging on the wall, not always knowing why it was there or what the words and date meant. When I was about 10 I finally asked him what it meant. He told me that when he found out that his son was having a child he wanted to quit smoking. He finally gave it up one month before I was born. When he gave it up, he starting chewing freedent gum. He never chewed the whole piece...only half. He always offered someone else the other half.

When I was in the ninth grade, my grandfather was near his death. One week before he died I was at his house and was dying my hair. He just couldn't understand why my hair looked purple. He had been making so much fun of me that I was getting upset. He was very sick, and that night I went in his room and told him I just couldn't bear to see him like that. He told me he understood and he didn't want anybody to see him like that. He reached out his hand, touched my face and told me he would always love me. He reminded me of some of our best memories together. I knew then that I would never see him again. One week later, he passed away.

So, as I walked across campus today chewing my half a piece of gum, I was reminded of the love I have for my grandfather. Even though he died when I was in 9th grade, to this day I still feel his presence around me. He will always have a special place in my heart. I loved him, I love him, and I keep our memories dear to my heart. When I mess up, I still say "hell, dumb, damn, stupid EB" and laugh because I know if he were still alive he'd be laughing with me. So here's to half a stick of gum, and memories of one of the strongest men in my life.