Granddaddy

For the last 3 months every time my phone would ring early in the morning and it would be my parents....I just knew they would be calling to say Granddaddy had died.  It was a call I dreaded.  Well I got that call today.  It was strange.  I was very sad.  He is the first grandparent that I have had to die.  I had a unique relationship with my Grandfather because he and my Grandmother had a child after I was born.  So I grew up with my aunt being a year younger then me and we grew up more like sisters/best friends.  I have a childhood filled with really great memories of my Grandfather.....However the last year has been bad.  He has wasted away.  It was painful to watch.  So a part of me was relieved that the suffering had ended.

What I will miss most about Granddaddy is the things he would say.....

"Kim....you know I'm the oldest man in Durham."
"Dang you Kim..." (whenever I would tell people how old he was)
"Kye"
"Why are you  rushin off?" (after staying the ENTIRE day) which was often followed by "why don't ya'll just stay and spend the night?"
"I'm the meanest man in Durham"......which always made me laugh.....I don't know why he tried to convince us that he was mean :)

I'll miss his songs....
I'm pretty sure I got my tendency to randomly break out into songs from my Granddaddy.....
He loved to sing....
"Do your ears hang low"
"Lord have mercy Baby's got her blue jeans on"
and anything by The Highway Men.....

I'll never forget the early Saturday breakfasts at the old Waffle House....or lunches on the porch at Jimmy's Grill and how he would let us ride home in the back of his old black pickup truck.....(I would have a stroke if my parents let my kids do this.....oh but I loved it!)
Granddaddy's favorite meal was breakfast....and he always made BIG breakfasts....eggs, french toast, bacon....I can picture him in that kitchen at Regalwood clear as day....

And after dinner on Saturday nights he lay down on the couch with his leg propped on the back and he would watch Hee Haw and The Grand Ole Opray....

I remember the stories he told.....We constantly begged....Granddaddy tell us one of your stories....
About the alligator in the Eno River.....I wish I had taped it.....that was my favorite.  He was the best story teller.  For some reason a small part of me still thinks that story just might be true.  I always keep my eyes peeled for alligators lurking on the banks of the Eno!
About being stuck by his parachute in a tree in Germany while the Germans searched below for hours.....
About how he single handily organized the chemistry lab at Duke.....
He could spin a yarn....and I loved to listen to his stories about when he was a boy and how he grew up on Cole Mill Road and how while he and his 5 brothers played Cowboys and Indians the rest of the boys on the street would play Crabtree Boys because they were so wild and mean they were neighborhood legends.....oh Granddaddy....I'll miss your stories.

Granddaddy had 5 brothers and 1 sister.  All 6 of the boys fought in World War 2 and all 6 came home.  He and Grandma were married for 61 years.  He died at home this morning.  He just stopped breathing.  He was 89 years old.  He had a long life.  I will miss him.

Psalm 73:26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

I love you Granddaddy!
Kim