You always picked our vacations… The Smokey Mountains, Mammoth Cave, Niagara Falls and Upstate New York, I maybe (not so secretly) didn’t like your vacation ideas. As an adult I see that you wanted us to experience nature and history and you wanted us to see the places you loved. If us kids wanted something you were the one to make it happen. When the 10 year old me wanted to go see The Hanson Brothers at City Center Mall and I was nervously pacing around the house about whether I could muster up the guts to go. I eventually decided I wanted to go. By the time we got to the mall it was too late, the concert was over. You probably knew that but you made sure to take me anyways. When we went on vacation in Upstate New York and there were signs everywhere to put your food away because of the bears, well of course you guys threw meat in the woods and at the break of dawn as we are all in a tent sleeping, we hear a lady clapping pans together and screaming “Get, go on!” You had some of the best stories and jokes that you would always tell us. Even if we heard them 25 times before, everytime you told them, they were funny! On the drive to the Smokey Mountains we just had to stop at the Wild Turkey distillery. You, mom and 3 kids, we had to have been 17,14 and 12 years old. We toured the distillery and saw the barrels and how the whiskey was made. At the end of the tour they gave the adults a complimentary tasting of Wild Turkey, us kids they offered us brownies. I will never forget taking a bite of that brownie and tasting straight up alcohol, I immediately spit it out. There are so many stories. My favorite is how great of a papaw you were. I believe about 85% of Alexander’s personality comes directly from his papaw. His deep love for history, collecting coins and silver. He is intelligent far beyond his years and I have to give you credit for that. For god sakes you taught the kid how to play backgammon at 8 years old. He told me one day, “Mommy, papaw is impossible to beat at Scrabble.” Yeah buddy I know! The words he could come up with (always on a triple letter or word) sometimes I think he made them up but we didn’t have google back then. There is so many things I could share. I wish you could have stayed around a little longer. One thing is for sure you will be missed by so many people. I can only imagine the family reunion that is going on in heaven right now, until we see you again or “catch you on the flipside.”
Love,
Ashley
