I remember grandpa.

I'm at work at the hotel. The place is quiet and my mind is winding back to when I was 3. Both of my grandfathers died when I was 3 a week apart. I remember them both. I can't tell you what I ate yesterday. but Grandpa Frank Karr I remember well.

My mother never got to meet Grandma Karr. She died of cancer after having 15 children. Dad was in the airforce stationed in St. Louis when he met mom. and Grandma died before mom had made a trip to Wapella. Then when dad went over seas. Mom went to Wapella to live outside of Wapella in a small house on a hill near Long Point Cemetery. When dad's grandparents passed. He was able to borrow from his brothers and grandpa put in what he could and they bought the farm where mom raised the rest of us. part of the deal was that grandpa would come to live with Mom and Dad.

What a blessing Grandpa was. Dad was one of his younger children so his was older. But what I remember of him he had patience unending. He was mom's extra pair of hands. And the Lord knew she needed them. I was mom's 14th child. I had a rough beginning I was premature, small and when I was two months old got nemonia, It was a rough winter and the furnace gave out. My sister JoAnn tells me she walk the floor with me many nights. But once I learned to walk I was hard to slow down.

Bails of Hay were tied with bailing twine. a thin rope. when they fed the hay to the cows there was always spare twine laying around. grandpa used to tie twine around my waiste and tie the other end to his belt. Then when he worked in the garden I wasn't far away. And as you can tell from my previous story. They needed to keep an eye, hand, or rope on me.

We had about a 1/2 an acre garden. At the back of it were fruit trees and grape vines. The corner of the garden had a huge corner post. Grandpa would stand me on the corner post and talk to me while he worked in the grapes or garden. As most small children I was full of Why Why Why. He would answer my questions one by one. I believe I learned my patience from grandpa. Even at that very young age. I just stood or squatted on that corner post, and talked the morning away.

Grampa would spend time in our basement in a rocking chair and keep the furnace stoked with coal. He was in his 80's and would have fainting spells. One of the times mom sent me to get him for dinner I thought he was dead. And came up the stairs whaling my head off. That is the last time I remember seeing grandpa. He died on a Thursday. My maternal grandparents had moved to Wapella after grandpa retired at 65. My grandparents were watching my cousin Tom and me. We were playing on the breezeway (the part of the house that connected the house to the garage and had lots of windows thus breezy) the following thursday when grandpa walk in to the room. grabbed his chest and fell over dead, straight toward our block castle. (we were very fortunate to have wooden 2 x 4 blocks) Grandma was a short round woman. She came out tugged and rolled grandpa over. felt his neck, felt his mouth for breath. Then told Tommy to go get Mrs. Burk (the neighbor) grandpa is dead "God Bless him" The then returned to the kitchen and put on a pot for tea. After I inspected grandpa I went back to my blocks. Shortly there after Aunt Alice (my dad's sister) showed up to sit with grandma. No one ever closed grandpa's eyes. I remember laying on my back to see what he was watching on the cieling. I remember men gathering in the yard and women gathering in the kitchen. I had my blocks put away before the men came to take grandpa away.
When they had the funeral. I remember feeling bad that I couldn't get close to grandma when she was feeling so bad. Whichever sister was in charge of me was keeping a tight hold on me. She took me up to the coffin to look in. I went back and reported to the rest of the cousins (there were cousins everywhere) that they chopped off grandpa's legs. News of this injustice soon got back to grandma. She came and took me by the hand and had the men open up the lower half of the casket. For all of her loss she was so loving as she showed a 3 year old the sadness in life. Grandpa Tenny was different from grandpa Karr. Grandpa Tenny's hands were soft and he wore wire rimmed glasses. He spent his life working as a recorder. Grandpa Karr had earned his living working with his hands. I would talk to both grandpas after their death. No need for an imaginary friend I had grandpas. It still amazes me how much my father came to be like his father in his old age. Dad has been gone for seven years and I still take a second look when I see someone in bibbed overalls or hear a bad joke.