As promised here is a little bit about the fellows in my life that I have been blessed to know. Starting with….My dad of course! When I was small I thought he could do anything. If something broke he fixed it. He built things, he moved heavy things, he knew Superman! He kind of looked like Superman too ~ tall, black hair, strong, hey maybe… nope not Superman, just MY Superman. Dad started bee keeping in his 50’s and became an expert at it. We have teased him at times because he likes to talk about his hobby, anything you want to know about bee keeping Dad can tell you and he LOVES to talk about it. Here is the deal, he has been acknowledged by Purdue University because of his reputation for bee keeping. He won’t tell you that because to him it is not a big deal. My dad doesn’t have one single college credit but Purdue University came looking for him and asked him to sit on the Agricultural Board because of his expertise in bee keeping. He would show up with his Ole Miss shirt on because he is a proud Poppa (that is where the Little One went to college) and he served as long of a term as is allowed, then retired. This taught me that you can teach an old dog new tricks and when you learn them remain humble of himself anyway, he absolutely LOVES HIS GRANDCHILDREN.

My Dad’s Dad, My Grandpa he loved my Grandma and took care of her best he could for 62 years and 9 months. I know he wasn’t perfect, but to me he was. When I realized he was getting older and might not be around I started asking him questions about different things. Gardening, life when he was young, he had lost his pinky finger in a wood working accident and he told me the hardest thing to do afterward was hold a bar of soap. A bar of soap would shoot right out of the bottom of his hand without that pinky – who knew! I really don’t remember much about the other answers. What is ingrained in my memory is sitting on the porch with him in the sunshine, in the early morning and he would let me hold his hand. What I will never forget is my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary when my Grandmother asked how she looked and Grandpa told her she needed a pin for her cleavage. She was 72 years old and he was concerned about someone checking out her cleavage! He taught me protecting the one you love never ends. I love that man, I miss him.

My Mom’s Dad, My Grand Daddy – what a character! He was put in a position of having to help take care of his family at only 11 years old. He went to work in a kitchen, they put him on a box and he washed dishes. He also learned to cook which is how he eventually made a living for himself and his family and boy oh boy could my Grand Daddy cook! We would wake up in the morning and there would be food all ready because he had been up cooking already. He could also tell a story and keep your attention, now I don’t know if they were true BUT they were always interesting. When he got out of the service they asked what his occupation was going to be and he said public speaker. I don’t know how much need there was for that in the 40’s but I tell you he could have made a fortune at it! He didn’t get as many years of marriage as my other grandpa did but he loved my Grand Mother best he knew how until the day she died. (she unfortunately passed away at the age of 58) The Man, the Myth, the Legend, my Grand Daddy. With only a 5th grade education he taught me about survival. I love and miss him too.

Frank Worthington – I didn’t change his name. He is well known in the region. He was our pastor and dear friend. He loved me enough to threaten to whip me when I needed it. (you could do that back in the day) He had been in the service, worked in the mill (I think) and then became a Pastor. Here is what I know…I watched him work right along side of the people in his congregation. Preached on Sunday, (morning, night and on Wednesday too) was at hospitals doing visits to the sick, worked on the buses with my dad to keep them running to pick up children that may not have gotten to church any other way, got up on our roof one day to help dad fix something, he went sledding with us kids in the youth group and kept up with us! There was a strike and he helped the local undertaker dig a plot so someone could be buried. Who knows what ALL he did behind the scenes? But here is my favorite story. At the end of his life, when dementia had taken over and he needed to be in a nursing home, when ever he was in a group of people he thought he was there to either preach or to pray. He not only taught me about the saving grace of Jesus he taught me about knowing your purpose in life. Even dementia could not take that from him. My adopted Grandpa, love you, miss you.

Big E – the hardest working person I know. He has worked since he was 12 to help take care of his family. He put himself through college, graduated on Friday and went to work on Monday. When others said he couldn’t do it he always proved them wrong. When he was in high school a man told him and his friend they would never amount to anything. That same man ended up doing time in jail for fraud. I have to wonder if he thought about what he said to those teenage boys? Big E had a lot of “negative nellies” in his life and despite their negativity he has done very well. He and I have had our ups and downs, (Lord knows we have) but he has taught me to not listen to the negative people and to keep your eye on the prize. If you work hard enough you can reach your goals. He knows all kinds of strange but useful things. He will give you the shirt off his back if you need it and then teach you what you need to do so that you could make your own shirt if you need to. Because if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.- Confucius

I have had a lot of characters in my life. Thankfully most of them good. I could go on and on with both male and female people. I am sure I will talk about more of them later because I haven’t even talked about the teachers that I had in school that will be both inspiring and funny. Stay tuned!