Sunday, October 09, 2011

I May Be Old, But I'm Not That Old

We are home right now because my step-father isn't doing too well. He recently came out of the hospital and has taken to bed at home. The other day when my nephews were visiting, my brother was telling them about all of the things their Papa had seen and been through in his life.

"Papa's almost ninety years old. Do you know how much he's seen in his life?" he said.

The boys were listening with rapt attention.

"He was in World War Two, storming the beaches in the Normandy Invasion, traveling through Germany, Italy and South Africa with the troops in his platoon..." my brother said.

"Did he drive a tank??" they asked.

"Yep. And not only that, he had to learn how to pitch a tent, he ate food called C-Rations and he slept in a sleeping bag."

"In the woods??" said the middle one.

"Yep. He's seen so much! He watched the first man land on the moon, he was around when there were silent movies, he saw President Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy get assassinated; and he watched it all on a black and white TV."

It was then that the youngest one said, "Was he there when President Lincoln was killed too?"

My brother just laughed and said, "No, that was way before Papa was born."

"Oh." said my nephew.

He's only eight years old, but I think it might be time to break out the visual "timeline-of-events" chart.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO: Today’s The Day!!
2 YEARS AGO: Ed Getting Jiggy Among The Sunflowers
3 YEARS AGO: The Bridge To Everywhere
4 YEARS AGO: Scared Into Anorexia
5 YEARS AGO: A Good Hot Cup Is Desperately Needed
6 YEARS AGO: Am I The Only One Who Noticed This??

2 comments:

Gil said...

The boys are so adorable! I hope that Papa is feeling better now that you are with him!

Terry said...

Sorry to hear about your step-fathers health. I hope he improves soon. I have two great Step Parents also and love them dearly. I will keep you all in my prayers.