"Stay away from them mean boys!"

From as far back as I can remember, until I got married, my Papa (PawPaw) told me to "Stay away from them mean boys!" I never really knew if he meant boys in general were mean, or just stay away from the mean ones, non the less I tried to heed his advise. Once I got married I missed hearing him tell me that every time I would go visit or talk to him on the phone... It was something I could always count on... Just like as a child when we would be crowded around that old TV set, (you know the ones that looked like furniture, with the wood casing around it,) and we would watch the news or the food channel and he would holler at me and my sisters, "Pull your dresses down!" Teaching us to be modest at an early age, or maybe he just didn't want us showing off our Beauty and the Beast, or Babs Bunny undergarments... either way we knew to jerk our skirts down otherwise he would start his spill about girls needing to keep they're dresses down and how "Just the other day" he saw something he "couldn't believe his eyes". I would love to hear that "spill" just one more time.
I loved talking to him, just not about politics, that is something he could go on and on about and argue tooth and nail about. But when we would talk about the kids or Darren, he was genuinely interested. A 11 year old cousin told us all at Papa's bedside, the night before his passing, that one thing he remembered about Papa is that he was always interested in what you had to say. He preceded to tell a story when he took a video of fourth of July he was eager to watch it and talked to him about it. This was so sweet to everyone. That a little child remembered his great-grandfather to be thoughful and a good listener. Out of the mouths of babes.
Although his passing is so sad to everyone who knew him, I try and remember all the fun time we had with him. He was the best and really ONLY grandfather I had, since the other died when I was somewhere around 6 months old, I believe. I miss him dearly but I know he is in a better place. Can't wait to see him again someday!


Love you Papa!