This post is a little off subject from my journeys on the ranch. This is dedicated to my papaw. Papaw went to be with the Lord after a long battle with Alzheimer’s on Thursday Feb. 17th. Papaw was the most well respected man I have ever met. I was blessed to call him grandpa. He taught me so much about how to treat people, how to handle yourself, and how to work hard. He cared about everyone. It didn’t matter how prestigious you were in the community or how much money you had. You were somebody to my papaw. He loved kids and desired to give everyone he met the best childhood if he could help it. He was papaw to many.
I guess I can thank Papaw for my country roots. I started feeding cows with him as a very little girl. I’m not going to lie cows used to scare me to death. I would sometimes even cry when they got too close to the pickup. I finally grew out of that when I realized they were too concerned about the feed to worry about a scrawny little girl. Papaw along with my dad put me on my first horse. On Sunday afternoons Papaw, my dad, my sister Cali, whatever friends Cali and I brought along, and I went on pleasure rides. Sometimes we would ride down the road to the rodeo arena, which he built, or we would ride up Rattlesnake Mountain (sounds scary huh ; ) I can remember one day when Papaw saved the day. We were riding up Rattlesnake Mountain. That day I brought my best friend Tara along to ride. She had long blonde hair and as we were going through some trees her hair caught on a branch. She was stuck in the tree and the horse kept moving. She started screaming but Papaw was quick to the rescue to save her. Another time we were riding at the arena. My horse turned one way and I turned the other and I ended up in the dirt. It wasn’t a hard fall just flustered me a little. Papaw came over, picked me up and walked me back to my horse. He set me back on the saddle as he joked about it being slick or something. He made sure that I knew when you fall you can’t get scared you just have to get right back on. Those are just a few of many stories I have of Papaw.
He was a man of few words but his actions were loud. He will be greatly missed.
Top 5 Favorite memories of my Papaw.
1. “That sting a little?” Papaw would always grab us and turn us over his knee and play spank us. He would say “does that sting a little”. He was just playing with us but it really did sting a little haha.
2. SNORING: I will never forget Papaw's snores. Growing up I spent the night with my Nanaw and Papaw a lot. Bedtime came and Papaw would usually fall asleep first in the house and he let everyone know it! Needless to say it was very loud and distinctive. I don’t know how Nanaw slept all those years, she had to of have a secret or something.
3. Old Dan Tucker: I don’t know how many times I sat on my Papaw's knee and bounced to Old Dan Tucker and straddlin' a stump, stump, stump.
4. Driving: He taught me how to drive as soon as I was tall enough to reach the pedals. We didn’t tell Nanaw who drove, she wouldn’t have been very happy. We would go out on the Throckmorton Hwy and drive out to Ft.Griffin. He would tell me stories about different people and the land we would pass. He was a great teacher because he was so calm. Dad and Nanaw were strung a little tighter so driving with Papaw was a lot less stressful.
5. Fandangle Parade: Every year from the time I could ride a horse until I was quite old, I, along with Cali and a slew of other youngsters, would ride behind the blacksmith shoppe during the parade. Papaw was always there riding along behind us.
1. “That sting a little?” Papaw would always grab us and turn us over his knee and play spank us. He would say “does that sting a little”. He was just playing with us but it really did sting a little haha.
2. SNORING: I will never forget Papaw's snores. Growing up I spent the night with my Nanaw and Papaw a lot. Bedtime came and Papaw would usually fall asleep first in the house and he let everyone know it! Needless to say it was very loud and distinctive. I don’t know how Nanaw slept all those years, she had to of have a secret or something.
3. Old Dan Tucker: I don’t know how many times I sat on my Papaw's knee and bounced to Old Dan Tucker and straddlin' a stump, stump, stump.
4. Driving: He taught me how to drive as soon as I was tall enough to reach the pedals. We didn’t tell Nanaw who drove, she wouldn’t have been very happy. We would go out on the Throckmorton Hwy and drive out to Ft.Griffin. He would tell me stories about different people and the land we would pass. He was a great teacher because he was so calm. Dad and Nanaw were strung a little tighter so driving with Papaw was a lot less stressful.
5. Fandangle Parade: Every year from the time I could ride a horse until I was quite old, I, along with Cali and a slew of other youngsters, would ride behind the blacksmith shoppe during the parade. Papaw was always there riding along behind us.
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