Happy 92nd birthday, PapPaw!

This picture was taken in California.

This is me, PapPaw, and my brother Scott.

Happy 92nd birthday PapPaw! My PapPaw would have been 92 today. He has been gone for 20 years, but I still think of him all the time. He was simply the best! I have decided to list some of my memories of him on this special day..............

• He loved to go fishing and knitted his own hoop nets.



• He ate oil sausage (the ones in a can with the little boy on the outside.) These tasted so good to me when I was little. I bought some a few years back, and let's just say, they tasted better when I was little. Grease City!


• I remember him mixing Blackburn syrup and butter together to eat with his biscuits. Y'all, that is some good stuff! Every now and then, I eat this with my biscuits........... probably full of fat and calories.



• One time he complained about my Nanny's biscuits. He told her that they did not taste good. The whole family had to suffer for weeks because of this. She refused to cook them because she was so mad at him. All men should know not to criticize their wife's cooking! And, may I add that his taste buds must have been a little off because her biscuits were always the best in the world!



• He was a master gardener before I ever knew such a thing existed. No, he didn't take the master gardener course, but he was still and will always be the "master" in my book. He could grow tomatoes like there was no tomorrow. The whole back yard of PapPaw's and Nanny's house was a tomato patch. I still remember the smell of canned tomatoes. (And, I don't even eat them, but that smell was divine!)



• The parents weren't allowed to spank the grandchildren in his presence. Now, I know all children need spankings. I am not opening up an argument for it or against it. But, when you are young, it is great to know you have a constant advocate by your side!



• He thought my daddy could fix anything, especially if he was having problems with his television.



• My last memory of him is this.......... He asked me one morning to go get my daddy's newspaper so he could read it. We lived across the street so all I had to do was run, walk, or skip across the street to get the newspaper. Well, for some reason, that morning I didn't go get it as quick as he liked. He got mad at me and said, "I'll go get it myself!" When I was little, it bothered me for the longest after he died that I didn't go get the paper. But, now that I am grown, and I have children of my own who do not do things right when I ask them too, I understand how he must have felt. I needed to be scolded.......... just a little.



• He was a Christian man, and I remember him listening to the bible on tape while he was staying in the hospital.

• He drove an orange Chevrolet truck. This may seem like an odd color, but I would love to own this truck now. Unfortunately, my cousin does. Oh well.......... at least it is still in the family.
  
  
• He thought the hospital had the worst smelling fish ever and told the nurse so.



• My cousin Jason was his baby. I don't think he had a favorite grandchild, but Jason, being the youngest, got away with MURDER!!!! It sortive made all of us jealous!
  

These are just a few memories............ some of them are simple because I was so young when he went to heaven. But, I look forward to seeing him again.