Gramps's 91 Years of Wisdom
Bats- Gramps loved nature and taught me to respect and study all creatures, even the creepier ones. Every once in awhile he would find a bat living in the garage at his cottage in Michigan. I don’t know how he went about catching it, but he would bring it to me and say, “Hey Tiger, that’s what he called me, take a look at this.” He would hold the bat and spread out its wings so I could see its tiny claws and the skin stretched between its finger-like bones. After we had studied it, we would let it go. I always thought it was so cool, but my Grandma and my Mom weren’t too happy about it. He also delighted in showing me dew covered spider webs. He never called a creature creepy. He even laughed at me for being terrified of spiders. It wasn’t until he was 90 that he revealed he really didn’t like spiders either.
Baseball- Gramps loved being active with the family. One activity he enjoyed until he was about 80, was playing baseball with everyone. About once a year, we would pack everyone, friends, uncles, aunts, and cousins- even the youngest ones, whoever happened to be around, into a few cars and drive to a local field. Gramps usually acted as the pitcher and he delighted in throwing crazy screwballs to strike us out. In his last few years of playing, when he was at bat, he used little ones as his pinch runners, but he could still hit. I guess that's part of the reason I'm still out on the rink everyday, doing things that most people my age wouldn't do.
Bats- Gramps loved nature and taught me to respect and study all creatures, even the creepier ones. Every once in awhile he would find a bat living in the garage at his cottage in Michigan. I don’t know how he went about catching it, but he would bring it to me and say, “Hey Tiger, that’s what he called me, take a look at this.” He would hold the bat and spread out its wings so I could see its tiny claws and the skin stretched between its finger-like bones. After we had studied it, we would let it go. I always thought it was so cool, but my Grandma and my Mom weren’t too happy about it. He also delighted in showing me dew covered spider webs. He never called a creature creepy. He even laughed at me for being terrified of spiders. It wasn’t until he was 90 that he revealed he really didn’t like spiders either.
Baseball- Gramps loved being active with the family. One activity he enjoyed until he was about 80, was playing baseball with everyone. About once a year, we would pack everyone, friends, uncles, aunts, and cousins- even the youngest ones, whoever happened to be around, into a few cars and drive to a local field. Gramps usually acted as the pitcher and he delighted in throwing crazy screwballs to strike us out. In his last few years of playing, when he was at bat, he used little ones as his pinch runners, but he could still hit. I guess that's part of the reason I'm still out on the rink everyday, doing things that most people my age wouldn't do.
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| Rosalind Adam |
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| Ali Cross |
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| Kyra Lennon |
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| Talli Roland |
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| Stephen Tremp |
Have a Beautiful "B" day!
Kathy :)
Wonderful... and the White Sox opener yesterday... Nice Post!
ReplyDeleteJeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy
Very touching! And great that he was still out on the field with everyone at 80.
ReplyDeleteI don't like spiders either but I seem to be fine with most other insects. A very active man.
ReplyDeleteLove it! I think bats are fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThat he remained active for so long is probably why he lived so long.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to watch bats fly and swoop during dusk in springtime. You just can't even imagine how many little flying bugs they're eating when they do that!
ReplyDeleteMy cousin scared the daylights out of me one evening when we were walking to her house at dusk and bats were flying around the light poles. She said a friend got a bat caught in her hair and had to have her hair cut off to get the bat out. I don't think I believe that anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying these stories about your grandfather. Too often we don't take the older generation's advice on things, though we should. It sounds like he imparted a lot of wisdom on you :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Jeremy- I'd like to say I knew that but it was totally an accident!
ReplyDeleteNick- He wasn't about to act his age!
Sally- Other insects don't bother me as much either.
Elizabeth-I want to visit that bridge in Austin where thousands of bats fly out from each night.
Alex- I'm sure you're right.
M.J.- Death to mosquitoes!
Wendy-Oh no! That would be scary to hear especially as a youngster!
Thanks so much everyone for commenting!
Your gramps sounds like a really cool grandfather!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME theme!! I am going to enjoy learning more about Gramps!
ReplyDeleteConnie
Checkin' in from the A to Z Challenge
Peanut Butter and Whine
That's pretty awesome. I live in a baseball town, and the people here in St. Louis live and breathe it.
ReplyDeleteI still get on the tennis court, despite it being a LONG time since my glory days. The best feeling was beating on some young hot shot 20 year old. Until the next day when I couldn't get out of bed.
I love Ali's cover. I'd love to read her books and Breakthrough. I hope to find time soon.
ReplyDeleteGramps sounds like the kind of person we need more of. He had appreciation and joy of all things plus the time to pass that on to another generation.
ReplyDeleteWe should all take the time to appreciate our grandparents. All of mine are gone, and I wish I had written down more of their thoughts/stories. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteB = Building Bildungsroman
Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the challenge! I participated last year and had a blast!
Donna L Martin
www.donasdays.blogspot.com