So many years ago.

 

“And I wish the price of gas was low and cotton was high

I wish honky tonks didn't have no closing time

And I wish grandpas never died

I wish grandpas never died.”

I am going to make an assumption here; I am assuming most of us had grandfathers. If not, you may not want to continue reading, and if so, come along for the ride.

I was fortunate, I had two grandfathers in my life. They both came to this country about the same time of what I recall, and unless I am making this up in my mind, I want to say they both had the same birthday. Not the years, the dates. Again, I am going off my memory but for some reason October 12th sounds about right.

But the similarities don’t stop there. Both of my grandfather’s were in the grocery business. Okay, that’s about all regarding what they had in common.

My grandfather on my Mom’s side was a bit older when he got married and because of this—-when he had children; according to what I read on ancestry.com, he was 32 when my Mom was born and 35 when my Uncle Earl came into this world. My grandfather was much more of a risk taker than my other grandfather….I do know he enjoyed playing cards and for sure he loved betting on horses. I seem to remember a picture on the wall of a winning horse and he was in the photo.

Another difference between my grandparents…money. My Mom grew up in a more affluent neighborhood and I recently mentioned in “Snap. Shot.”—- my Dad was so poor “his parents couldn’t afford to give him a middle name.” That line still cracks me up.

My Dad’s parents had a grocery store in St. Louis; it was in a less-than desirable neighborhood. Let me restate that….it was in a horrible neighborhood. But that didn’t stop them from working hard and providing for their family. I remember a few things about their store. They had cigarettes and rolling papers where you checked out, the floors squeezed like crazy, and I might be wrong about this, but I want to say they had a large pickle jar with my favorite pickles floating in brine. I also remember they had a meat slicer that I think one time it sliced more than meat. (Think finger.)

Both of my grandparents are now gone, as are my parents, but it’s the moments they allowed me to experience as a young child that live within me (and my brother and sister) today. We were raised to work hard, appreciate what we had, and most important---- never forget where we came from. 

The photo above was taken at the American History Museum in Washington D.C. I took the photo because it brought back memories of my Grandparent’s store. So much has changed since those days of eating pickles and squeaky floors, but one thing has not…my Grandparents on both sides of the family made me who I am today and all I can say is “Thank You” for instilling the values you gave me.

Thanks for stopping by.