October 8, 2009

Gene became Shelley's PaPa when she was ten years old and her father, Alan, married Gene's daughter, Lynn.  At the funeral, the three oldest grandchildren were asked to speak as a representative of each family.  Shelley was the representative for Lynn's family.

Here's what she had to say:  

It was hot. Kentucky in August usuallly is.  My feet were bare, except for the coating of wet soil.  I reached to pluck another ear of corn off the tall stalk.  PaPa was weeding and helping us reach the taller stalks.  MaMa was in the kitchen capturing the freshness of the corn and boiling it for winter.  The wheelbarrow was full of corn.  We sat on the back porch under the umbrella to shield us from the blazing sun and shucked the corn.  I screamed.  PaPa walked toward us with his usual grace. 

"What's wrong," he asks non-chalantly.  

I jumped around while pointing to the HUGE caterpillar on an ear of corn I was shucking.  It looked like a small fuzzy, multi-legged rodent, yes, it was that big.  

PaPa just grinned as he picked it up on his finger (it was about as big as his finger!)  He said, "Oh, this little thing, it won't hurt you."

He walked back to the garden with the same grace as he did when he came over and placed the caterpillar back on a leaf!  I was still in shock and was unable to shuck more corn.  

That's just the way he was, calm and always patient. One of his many legacies not only lies in his green thumb, of course, but in his patience and that he always made time for his family.