1977
About 1983 (Before my hair was chopped off in 2nd grade. Also about the time I accepted what Christ did for us. This might have been the picture of or around that occasion. I was at their church when I took the step. I can't remember what I was wearing that day. This is the picture of me in my dress before Pap-paw sprayed me with the water hose, allowing me to get soaked and play in the water in my finer clothes. I wish I could ask him more about this and that day.)
1996
If you have checked in on the blog since the time of its birth, you have some background on this guy's life. Some things I may have failed to mention is that he was from a poor family and had many siblings. His dad was Bert and his mother was Eva Parthemore. I recently found out that his mother was also known as Abbie. We weren't extremely close to his family growing up because he became known as the somewhat outcasted Bible thumper, although he never threw his beliefs at family and friends, his presence just often stirred a strong conviction in others. He loved them dearly, though, and that was clear, and they knew it.He grew up in Delaware, Ohio. I remember spending a week or two with him and Mam-maw one summer, when I was about 6, and he drove us from Huntington, WV to Delaware, Ohio to visit his family. He was speed demon on the road. It was the first time I had been through downtown Columbus. It seemed so very big. I got to meet his family along the way. They made quite the impression. His sisters were quite a bit younger than him, like an average of 20 plus years. His sister Carol and her husband Roy made the biggest impression. We've continued to try and remain connected.
If I remember correctly, Pap-paw was the second oldest. Stories went that his mother wanted a daughter so badly she named him Gerald but pronounced it Gearald. His living sisters still call him that. We also heard stories that his mother dressed him in dresses and grew his hair long much longer than what was normal for his time period. Some swore this caused him to act more rebellious as a teen. His mother eventually had three girls, Belva (about 13 years younger), Doneta, and Carol (whose in her upper 70s now).
One life changing event he shared with us that has had a lasting impact on understanding his personhood was the story that he and his brothers and a friend were riding in a car and playing a sort of daring game by crossing the railroad tracks with an oncoming train. As they tried to cross, their two-door car stalled. My pap-paw was in the back seat on one side with his younger brother (I believe Glen) in the middle. They started jumping out of the car but his brother Glen didn't make it out in time. I want to say Pap-paw said Glen was a young teen when he was killed. I think he shared because of the impact it had on him.
As I've touched on in past posts, Pap-paw drank and gambled a lot as a young man. He eventually turned his life around and became an electrician for the railroad (when you could work on apprenticeships rather than multiple degrees.) He became a leader in his church, helping to build and run electricity for worship space. When he retired he worked alongside his pastor who was bi-vocational and built houses.
My mother's childhood friend, Judy, and her husband Dick remained extra close to them. She describes her husband's relationship to my Pap-paw like a Paul and Timothy relationship. Judy and Dick hosted them weekly for Sunday dinners and my grandparents were like grandparents to their children. They often called my Mam-maw and Pap-paw Mom and Dad. I enjoy hearing her share stories because of the joy and happiness I know they brought my grandparents.
Here are the strongest memories I have of him:
1. When I spent the night with them, I would often wake to hearing him pray while kneeling at his chair.
2. He always wore slippers in the house but didn't mind if we ran barefoot.
3. He wired creative bells and phones from inside his house to his workshop so Mam-maw didn't have to go far to fetch him. I can still smell his workshop.
4. I remember him spraying me with a water hose while in my church dress. And once, when he asked me to help him mop the kitchen floor, he told me to watch how he gets it done. He pulled the kitchen sink hose out and sprayed the kitchen floor with it. Then he handed the nozzle to me and told me to do it. I remember being paralyzed by disbelief and asking how we would get all the water out. He opened the kitchen door and pushed it out with the mop.
5. His Bible was very used, showing many markings.
6. He had an amazing love and care for my grandmother. He painted their living room a soft pink to please his beloved. I distinctly remember this occasion -- changing the color from a peach to a shade of pink, Mam-maw's favorite color.
7. His lovely fedoras, dress coats and dress shoes were phenomenal.
8. His relationships with other godly men made a huge impression.
9. His singing and his emotion behind it were strong.
10. His constant advice -- "Never grow old." "Keep looking up." It was crushing to watch him lose physical capabilities and independence, mainly because you could see how it bothered him so. He would get so embarrassed and frustrated. I don't think I would have worried or hurt for him as much if he had laughed it off.
11. The man could eat! I tell everyone he's who I got my metabolism from. People swore he was a bottomless pit. He had no problems piling his plate high and stacking food on top of food. He loved to take us to Morrisons Cafeteria.
12. His heart surgery scar was fascinating. How cool is that he had a pig valve in him?! That was hard for me to wrap my head around when I was about 9 or 10. Wow -- doctors are impressive. And it was predicted the valve would only last him 7 to 10 years. It lasted him about 13 or 14 years.
13. His gift of gardening taught me a lot. Roses and pansies were his favorite flowers. I remember picking his green beans, cucumbers and tomatoes, and cutting rhubarb so Mam-maw could make him rhubarb pie. (I still have a faint scar to prove I didn't need help cutting it into smaller pieces.)
14. I remember him boiling all the nutrients out of frozen and canned veggies. There was a particular smell that alerted us to when the veggies were Pap-paw done.
15. His special way for making the Strawberry Shortcake cup a surprise for me. He gave it to me after I sang him the Strawberry Shortcake song. I wouldn't do it at first but I really wanted that cup. :-)
16. He crafted us an easel to use. He made a child-size picnic table and benches. The most surprising Christmas gift he was tickled to give me -- a child-size padded rocking chair that he purchased.
Yes, I could probably go on. :-)
