Grandpapa's Birthday

This past weekend, we went to Huntsville, Alabama to celebrate my Grandpapa's 75th birthday. I wanted to share a few things about my Grandpapa. Interesting fact #1 is that Grandpapa's birthday is July 26th, and his twin brother's birthday is July 27th! Ever met twins with different birthdays? My Grandpapa is a mechanical engineer and worked out at Redstone Arsenal for many years. He is absolutely brilliant! In fact, Grandpapa built the tractor that he used to dig the basement under my grandparents old house. He was always working on something in his shop, and he still does what he can. For many years now, Grandpapa has had Parkinson's Disease, among some other health problems. He thus can't do many of the things he used to enjoy.

When I was in high school, I visited Grandpapa at the arsenal. Parkinson's had started taking it's toll, but he was still able to work. He explained to me a little bit of what he was working on, and he took me on a mini-tour showing me where they tested this and that. I'm not mechanically inclinded, so I didn't understand much of what he was saying, but I enjoyed listening to him. He clearly enjoyed showing me around and chatting to me about his job.

I still love to visit Grandpapa and Grandmama. They normally cook us a big breakfast with bacon, ham, eggs, grits, and biscuits. During breakfast, Grandpapa will holler something like, "Queenie, can you bring me some more bacon." While giving him the bacon, Grandmama will reply, "Jimmy, you don't need any more bacon," and she'll complain about what he eats. Grandpapa will cheerfully ignore her and go on eating whatever he wants. Afterward, we'll sit on the porch and watch the hummingbirds feed. Grandmama and I will giggle about Grandpapa's battle with the squirrels over the bird feeder. (He greases the post with Crisco so the squirrels can't climb up to eat the birdseed.) Then, more people will wake up or arrive, and chaos ensues. While their house is normally chaotic when all the family visits, there's still something about being around them that makes me feel calm and relaxed inside.