Ricky Skaggs and Grandpa

My family and I went with my Mom to see Ricky Skaggs in concert this past Saturday.  Unfortunately I was really rushed, because all day we thought it was going to be cancelled because of the severe weather we had.  Therefore, there are no pictures.  About an hour before the concert, the sun came out and we decided to go.  Because of the rain, the temperature cooled down and there was a nice breeze.  It. Was. Perfect.

For those of you who don't know who Ricky Skaggs is-he is a Bluegrass singer (he also sings Gospel).  My Grandpa used to listen to him all the time, and took us to a concert when I was about Abram's age.  I can remember sitting with my grandparents, and the stage seemed far away, but I remember feeling so happy. I also remember my mom being able to go backstage and meet him, and the next couple of years we got Christmas cards from his family.

It's funny how music/a certain song can take you back, almost to exact moments in your life. I remember being at my Grandparents one Summer and playing a Ricky Skaggs tape in the gray "boom box" in the kitchen and rewinding over and over until I had the songs memorized. I remember my Grandpa often coming in and catching me singing at the top of my lungs-but he never told me to turn it off.

I think about him often, and especially at Father's day. I have a hard time even typing about him. But there are certain things you have to just suck up and do-especially because you don't ever want to forget them, and because you need your kids to know. If I close my eyes, I can still remember the way he smelled, and I can hear his laugh.  I can see the mischevious grin on his face.  My Grandpa was a quiet man, but when he spoke-everyone listened.  I remember him being very kind and respectable to others. He was a hard worker.  He had a huge garden in the backyard, and sometimes we would walk around it and he would pick a turnip out of the ground and peel it with his pocket knife and we'd share it.  I remember a lot of evenings just walking around that garden.  I think about him everytime I smell fresh tomatoes, or corn. I think of my Grandma stringing green beans with a huge bright green tupperware bowl.

We'd go to family reunions every year. They were really important to my Grandparents.  The ones in Kentucky were my favorite-some of the men would play bluegrass, the ladies would make the best food, and we would play all weekend. We would load up the camper and drive to the holler (no, seriously-boon docks) and we would drive up this mountain where my sister and I would get nervous because one slight move of the steering wheel would take you down the mountain.  Grandpa would purposely drive on the edge to make my Grandma mad. I can still hear her yelling at him and he would just have this grin on his face. I remember holding my breath as we crossed this OLD bridge where you could hear each plank as you drove across.  That bridge has been replace by concerte now.  The first time I crossed it after it had been redone, although I felt a lot more safe-it was sad. 

My Grandpa was my father figure growing up.  He was very patient, kind, and loving.  I was constantly in his lap, and when I got too big, I just sat right beside him.  There is something to be said about that ya know? Just sitting in the same room with a person and just by sitting with them it makes everything okay-safe and loved. When he was alive our whole family would get together every Christmas Eve-there was the traditional Bengals vs Browns arguements and someone always got him a tin of popcorn.  I remember with all of the chaos/fun of those nights, his eyes would just shine.  He had "his chair" that he would sit/sleep in and every Sunday we would watch old westerns together.  If I fell asleep on the couch, he would take the cordless phone and extend the antenna and stick it in my ear-by the time I jumped up he had hidden it and was watching the TV.  I caught on by the thrid time.  He was so patient and loving to a redheaded kid who was going through a lot, and sometimes wasn't very loveable.  I could go on and on, but I have snotted through a half a role of toilet paper just typing this much.  Maybe I will do it it spurts, I can't take all of this emotion at once.  And I know this post is a downer-I am sure that something really akward and embarrassing will happen to me soon.....I will leave you with this: