You ever notice than when you ask a Liberal who inspired them or or helped to mold their character, it's always someone great or esoteric such as Ghandi, The Dalai Lama, Kennnedy, Mao... and so on.
As all y'all know, I'm no liberal, so I'd like to tell you about the second greatest influence in my life[after Mom], my maternal grandmother, Adele.
Now mind you, Adele wasn't your regular run-of-the mill Grandma. I don't ever remember the smell of cookies coming from her kitchen or chicken fryin for Sunday dinner. I do remember sitting quietly as a very young boy waiting for her to finish her first cigarette and cup of coffee, before I could talk to her.
Adele, okay from here on out, I'm just gonna call her Granmda because that's how I remember her. Grandma was a strog-willed person and very opinionated and lived her life accordingly. She was very big on manners, attire and rules.
Grandma was a firm believer in manners. God help you no matter who you were if you replied with words such as yeah, huh or a uh uh, nope, etc. It was yes ma'am, or no ma'am. I don't mean just family, I mean everybody. I have sat next to her in diners and coffee shops and watched her "counsel" a waitress for using those words when taking her order. She was never rude about it, but would get her point across very quickly.
Grandma was big on appearance also. When I was a boy playing football in school, I was allowed from time to time to stay with her in town to keep mom from havin to drive into town after practice all the time. Wellsir, before going to bed, I'd have my clothes laid out the next day, and boots polished and she'd check them along with my homework, which she would go over for neatness as well as being correct. To this day, I still like my shirts and jeans starched and when I go out my boots are done and hat brushed.
She had her rules, too. Not a lot of them, but the one I remember most was no hat on in the house. To this day, I can't wear a hat indoors. Even with cowboy etiquette allowing you to wear if no safe place for it, I'll hold it in lap or hang on my knee. She allowed us 15 seconds to take it off after comin inside. I never was sure what would happen after 15 seconds because I didn't want to know.
Earlier, I told you Grandma wasn't your regular grandmother. She was one of a kind, When most grandmothers would be cookin, bakin, and such as; Adele ran a bar. And it really wasn't a bar, it was as we say in Texas, a beer joint. Nope it wasn't a pub, people it was a beer joint. And in this beer joint, she catered to mostly oilfield workers and cowboys. Now Adele had her rules in there, too. No fights, no touching the help(my mom) and no feeding the kid in the playpen by the jukebox(me). Ever wonder how she enforced those rules with out a bouncer in one of the rowdiest places in Texas? Sheer force of will.
Okay, let me tell u about the one thing in my life that has shaped and influenced my thinkin and actions to this day. When I was about 10, Mom got real sick and was confined to bed and in and out of the hospital. My stepdad was on the road a lot and without a thought to anything, Grandma quit, packed up moved to Bowie and moved in to take care of us. She took a job in a laundry, because Bowie was dry, and when she wasn't workin, she was taking care of me and my sisters. She even cooked! Up till then, I had no idea she used a burner for anything but lighting a cigarette. She never complained, she just moved in and took over. I asked her once why she did it, and she replied,
"Eddie, that's truly the dumbest question you have ever asked. Family takes care of their own. We don't need to rely on nobody but family". All I could say was, yes ma'am.
She's been gone a while,but she has a special place in Heaven. I like to think it's right next to Peter at the gate makin sure people look presentable before thu the Gates, lookin presentable and I guarantee you, there's a hat hook close by.
Happy Birthday Grandma!!
