Gramps Speaks - 100 Things about Me

Hey, Y'all,

I have asked Gramps to list a hundred things about himself (and I gave him some assistance, since he is in the early stages of dementia). Most of the things, he thought of without my help.

So....here we go. Today I will post 50 of the things about him. That is all we have come up with so far.

1. I am a Christian

2. I was born in a little town in Virginia named Honaker.

3, My father was a hard rock miner.

4. He was injured in the mines of Jefferson City when I was only 3 years old.

5. We had moved to Jefferson City when I was 3 months old.

6. I was encouraged to go to school by mother.

7. We lived in the shadows of the elementary school when I was going to school.

8. I was born with two handicaps - amblyopia in my left eye, and also an extended jaw, which was kind of like Jay Leno's jaw, jutting out on the chin.

9. Surgery corrected the jaw when I was 53, but the eye was never corrected.

10. I was a bachelor until I married Grammy at the age of 50.

11. I acquired a ready made family of children and sisters and brother in law.

12. I have one brother, and two sisters. One brother and one sister are deceased as a result of Altzheimer's disease.

I3. I went through grammar school without failing any grade.

14. I had my head bumped against a buddy's head by the principal because we had been scuffling around in the boy's bathroom.

15. A teacher, Mrs. Peck, made geography interesting for me and inspired my love of geography.

16. A teacher once made a mistake on my grade card by giving me a bad grade and my mama sent me back up to the school to make him change it. He did change it.

17. I have read the Bible through many times more than I can remember.

18. I wish I could remember more of the Bible than I can.

19. My mama really believed in the power of prayer. One time when I was really sick unto dying,I heard her go out onto the back porch and pray for me. She could really raise the roof and talked to Him like she knew Him. Needless to say, I recovered.

20. When she came back in, she said, "you are going to get better, and you are always going to be my good boy,aren't you?" I said, "yes", and I have always tried to be.

21. In eighth grade, we had to write a graduation speech and memorize it. I can still remember a lot of mine. It was about Tennessee and its natural resources.

22. I like to go fishing.

23. I learned to swim in the mine hole in Jefferson City.

24. In high school I played football.

25. Our uniforms were old. Our knees would stick out because the pants were too short.

26. Before the game, the coach told us to go home and eat a nutricious meal. I went home and had a cold biscuit, because that was all there was to eat.

27. My wife and I have two daughters and 2 sons-in-law, and lots of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

28. I love them all, and enjoy spending time with them when we can go visit them.

29. I had foot surgery ten years ago and had the front part of my left foot removed. I spent two and a half months in the hospital.

30. I am a diabetic and have to watch my diet.

31. Growing up, my brother, and two sisters and I picked blackberries till I got tired of looking at them. My mama made jam and jelly and canned the rest of the berries.

32. One time when we had been picking blackberries, we got chased by a bull when we went through a field where cows were.

33. Another time, we had been picking up black walnuts, and had a bag of them. We were coming through that same field, and the bull looked at us. We dropped the bag of walnuts and had to come back for it later.

34. I taught school for twenty-four years and the subjects I taught were reading, spelling, and social studies to seventh and eighth graders.

35. As a high school student, I worked in the summer for Bush Brothers Cannery and was in charge of collecting boxes of tomatoes in Grainger County. A truck driver from Bush's drove around and I had to pick up the boxes of tomatoes. Many of them were overripe from sitting in the sun, and the boxes dripped tomato juice onto my clothes.

36. I was hired by two brothers who owned a wholesale warehouse to work there in the warehouse, where among my other jobs, I had the job of stamping cigarettes for resale.

37. I was a smoker in those days and smoked until shortly after I met Grammy (aka Ruby). Then I quit smoking, when I realized what a nasty habit it is.

38. I like big band music (from the 1940's), jazz, and country music.

39. I love watching television and watch a lot of CNN

40. I am a diabetic

41. I enjoy dressing up and looking sharp when I go somewhere special.

42. I am a homebody and love being comfortable at home

43. I really enjoy sleeping late in the mornings.

44. I also enjoy eating out with Grammy and with family and friends.

45. I love my wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren.

46. My nieces grew up during the years that I was dating Ruby (Grammy) and we always enjoyed visiting in my sister, Johnnie's home, and seeing them growing up. We really love them.

47. I love my sister, Bonnie Jean, and love spending time with her and talking to her on the phone as well.

48. I really enjoyed my years of teaching and loved my kids that I taught. They were full of life and very interesting always.

49. I left the wholesale warehouse and went to Carson Newman College and got my degree.

50. I met Ruby when we were both teaching in summer school, the first year that she taught school.

Well, folks, this is the first fifty of the 100 things about Gramps, and we may be able to come up with another fifty next week. I don't know yet.

The picture I have posted is of Gramps with our oldest grandson and his family.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for the evening. May you feel God's love and peace within your hearts. Bye for now.