Appreciating Grandparents After They Are Gone

I was thinking back to my youth and time spent with grandparents.

My maternal grandmother was a very accomplished woman. She authored several books about settlers in the Simms-Fort Shaw area. She also won hundreds of ribbons at the state fair for her flowers and garden produce. I also recall watching her complete a 7-minute shopping spree that she won for winning a jingle writing contest for Shasta Cola.

She was able to pre-position shopping carts all around the store, then when the timer started, she could fill the carts with whatever she wanted. She got a lot of meat, coffee and sugar.

My grandfather was actually a step-grandfather. But, he is the man responsible for teaching me the game of golf. For Christmas in 1978, he bought me a $28 season pass for the course we played in Great Falls.

Grandpa Les also taught himself to paint after he retired from his accounting career. And he was a pilot in the war.

Grandaddy Wilson drove 3 million accident-free miles for Greyhound.

And Granny worked in the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. This is the hotel that lets the ducks come in once a day and swim in a fountain in the lobby.