My Grandpa

JOHN

It was a nice sunny day and the birds where chirping and kids were running up and down the streets. We were in the car and had just turned into my grandparent’s neighborhood on a spring afternoon. It was Easter break and I was going to stay in Geneseo with my grandparents for a couple of days while my parents were out of town. I remember watching the kids riding their bikes down the black topped streets thinking what am I going to do out here for 4 whole days. We pulled into the driveway and my grandpa was out there washing his car. He took great pride in his big red buick that was over 10 years old and didn’t have even a scratch on it. I remember my mother warning me to put a smile on my face and at least look happy to be there. “Hey kid are you ready to work for the next few days”, my grandpa said as I walked up the driveway. I just smiled and was thinking about how mad I was at my parent’s for leaving me here. Later on that night after my mom had left my grandpa took me out to the garage where he said I was going to work. His idea of work was teaching my how to make things.   At age 7 I remembered thinking I don’t need to know how to make things I just want to play with my dolls.   We first made a bird feeder and I got to hang it up and watch the birds. He later taught me all of the different kind of birds that came to visit over the next several days. Next we made a doll bed. I was very happy about this because I had somewhere for my baby to sleep while I was there. Over the next few days I made both my mom and dad a present. Whenever we were working on something my grandpa would tell me what each tool or sander did while we used them. “Later there would be a quiz”, he would always say.   All in all the 4 days I had dreaded turned into the best 4 days of my Easter break and I had formed a relationship with my grandpa.
Sir John or Uncle John is what everyone in their small town called my Grandpa.   I never understood why when I was a kid. I figured the Sir...