Monday, August 25, 2008

A Weekend With Grandpaw


Life is curious. This weekend we played Guitar Hero on the TV at Granny's. Grandpaw Woody, age 90, watched on with amusement and fascination as rocked our guitars and played some serious tunes. To him the technology of today is mind boggling. I remember showing him the ipod and him saying he just couldn't imagine how they do that. The part I found so interesting was last night as we sat at the dinner table listening to Grandpaw's stories it was my mind that was boggled. Grandpaw made $.12 an hour as a field laborer at age 12 when he had his first job. When he was married and had a young family he was making $.62 1/2 cents an hour or $5.00 a day. I almost make as much in a hour as he made for a whole week of work. It's so incredibly different that it doesn't seem real. I know it was but yet how they ever did it, I don't know. Last night we spent a good hour at the dinner table, just Judy, Grandpaw and I and we just listened to everything he wanted to share. I learned more about his dad "Pops" than I've ever heard. He had stories of going to have Sunday dinners with all the cousins. My favorite story was how Pops chewed tobacco and when they would ride in the car everyone would fight to sit on the opposite side of the car as Pops because he would spit and it would come back in the window. YUCK and funny too! There used to be used car lots on both sides of the road at Killingsworth and Union and that's where Grandpaw bought his first car. He bought a 1928 Chevy. He had $15.00 left after he bought it. He said he was broke from then on. It's days like the ones we shared this weekend that make me feel so very lucky to have Grandpaw still alive and able to share these things with us.

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