Holy Smokes

Well, my mom and I are on our last night in California. We came out to stay with my great grandpa while his daughter (My great Aunt Dayna, who usually takes care of him) was out of town. And let me tell you, for a 93 year old man, he's quick as a whip.

Edward Donald Wright is probably my favorite person in the world. (Well, I guess he found out later in his life that his birth certificate actually says Everette Donald Wright, but he thought it was Edward most of his life!) He is just so sassy! He told my mom and I several times that he might just keep us around. Thanks, Grandpa. I am so happy that you kind of like us.

Being here has been quite the learning experience. It's interesting to hear stories about my grandpa's life, and how different things were for him than they are now. He said when he was a kid he had a paper route that took him all over Dayton, Ohio, and then worked in a field all day, where he raked in a whopping 50 cents

Grandpa was a mechanic by trade, and owned a few garages in his lifetime. He told us a story about a priest he was friends with that was going on a trip out of town and really needed new tires, but he couldn't afford them. One day, my grandpa let him borrow his car to go play golf, and when he returned my grandpa had put 4 brand new tires on his car. The priest said "Don, I cannot afford these." But my sweet grandpa said not to worry about it. They were paid for. Now, my grandpa is not Catholic, and the priest told him he knew members of the church who wouldn't even do that for him. Finishing up this story, my grandpa said "it all comes back around". 

I have learned so much this trip, and have so much respect for my grandpa. He's had a long life with countless trials, but he does his best to appreciate the countless blessings.

The funnier parts of this trip were grandpa being way more impressed with my mom's iPad than the pictures she was trying to show him on it. Or his "medicine" (whiskey) he had every night with his dinner. And he kept asking me if I told my sister that I had been swimming outside in January, and how he wished he could see her reaction to it. He's an old spit-fire, that man is, and I love him so much.

The greatest man I know