Friday, October 12, 2007

A Century and Change


I have to head to Virginia tomorrow for a funeral. My paternal grandmother passed away last night and I have been canceling hotel rooms, getting the car serviced and making travel plans all day so that I can get to the viewing on Sunday and the funeral on Monday.

The little lady made it to 102 and then some and was fast approaching the next milestone. She has been in a nursing home for several years and I think she finally got fed up with the whole mess and decided to move on. She outlived all of her same generation family by decades and buried the last of her children, my father, just 9 years ago. She raised three kids through the depression as a single widow and saw all of her children go off to war in 1941 including her daughter. A life long Democrat she idolized FDR and for as long as I can remember kept a picture of him in her bedroom. She spent all her life doing the best she could and along the way buried two husbands and helped raise a passel of grandchildren including yours truly. She is the kind of stock that made America what it is today and we owe a great debt to her generation. They worked hard and didn't ask lightly for help but were appreciative of it when it was needed and came. They also made a point of passing on that help when they were in better circumstances. We can all learn a lot from their example. I can say with some authority that she tanned my bottom when I was not doing as she thought proper and I can guarantee it made me a better man today.

So anyway, don't know how much time I'll have here over the next few days but will stop in if I have the time. Driving all day tomorrow and then all the family stuff Sunday and Monday and then driving Tuesday so I can be on the client site Wednesday morning.

If I don't talk to you have a good weekend.

Note: The picture was taken at her 100 birthday party a couple of years ago and you must say she looks pretty good for her age.

No comments: