V is for Voice

PT’s 91 Years of Wisdom

This year, I had a terrible time trying to figure out what my A-Z theme would be.  I finally decided that this year, I would honor my beloved 91 year old grandfather, Paul Titus, or PT as his friends called him, who passed away on February 8th.  He lived a wonderfully full life and was always trying to challenge my brothers and me to think out of the box.  So for this challenge I thought I would share little bits of his wisdom that he tried to bestow upon us.  

But I also want to highlight the wonderful bloggers in this community who have published their books.  So everyday, I will give a quick  shout out to those works with titles beginning with the letter of the day.

Gramps rockin' in his favorite chair with his great-grandkids

Gramps always enjoyed music.  He never played an instrument, but he loved listening to others. He believed it was good for the soul.   Musicals like The Music Man, South Pacific, and Oklahoma, delighted him, though he never actually went to the theater until he was in his eighties.  He also enjoyed the Three Tenors and the Celtic Women.  He opened up my musical horizons which had previously consisted of only my dad’s Elvis and Beatles records.

The one instrument he did use was his voice.  He loved to sing.  My mom even surprised him with voice lessons for his 90th birthday, which he enjoyed.  

Often he sang Amazing Grace and other hymns, but his favorite song was based on the Robert Louis Stevenson poem, The Swing, though the words were slightly different from the original. His mother used to sing it to him as a little boy and she must have changed the words accidentally.   This is the version he used to sing as he pushed us in the swing or rocked us to sleep on his lap.  

“How would you like to go up in the air,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it’s the pleasantest thing

Ever a child could do!

To go up in the air,

And over the wall

‘Til I can see so wide.

Rivers and streams gardens and all

Over the countryside-

‘Til I look down on the gardens green,

Up on the roof so high

Up in the air I go flying again

Up in the air and down

and down

Up in the air and down.”

    

 These were also the last words to escape his lips.  As he lay dying, he and my mom sang this over and over until he was sleeping.

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Now for the "V" shout outs!

Lee Strauss

Have a vonderful "V" day! Check out other A-Zers here.

Kathy :)