May 19 – “Grandfather Revelations”

Chris' Mom is still in the hospital, and it looks like she will be there for a few more days.  That means their trip to Lubbock is off for the foreseeable future.  Actually, I found out the trip was to be to a place called Ralls just outside of Lubbock.    The treatment plan is to slowly dry up the fluid around her heart.  Meanwhile they are also going to do some x-rays and kidney tests.  Chris came home tonight.  But I have to take her back up to the hospital tomorrow.  She wants to be there as much as she can.    My job today was to drive to Houston and go with Chris's Dad to run some errands in Lake Jackson.  He just had cataract surgery in one of his eyes, and Chris usually drives him to appointments, too.  So I thought I would be driving.  So did Chris.  And her Mom.  But no one told him that.  I offered, but he would have none of it, so I crawled in the passenger seat and texted Chris.  Her comment was, "Keep your eyes open."  I did.  He did OK except for the times there was a white line right in front of where I was sitting.  That was a bit frightening.    I did manage to get him talking about his past.  I knew he was full of stories, and it really didn't take much prodding.  And while he was reminiscing, his driving was much better, so I had to come with question after question to keep him going.  I wish I had had a tape recorder.  I'm sure his grandchildren would love to hear some of the revelations I did.  Maybe not right now.  But when they are teenagers and are pushing their parents' limits.  He even admitted that his grandmother once told him he was too much like his father, who was also quite the wild man.   He told me he "wrecked more cars than any human should."  I thought the answer to that would be one or less.  But he had quite a string of them.  After one particularly destructive occasion, his Mom told him, "God must have something left for you to do."    He talked for awhile about his trips to Alaska and Canada and the Arctic Circle.  I've heard those stories before, because they happened after he married Chris' Mom.  I was interested in his earlier years, so he obliged me.   When he was 18, he drove to California with a friend and stayed three months.  He used to hitchhike out to West Texas to work in the fields for $10 a day.  He just knew he was a wealthy kid.  Especially when his aunt wouldn't let him hitchhike back home with all the money he earned.  She gave him a few dollars for food and wired the rest to his parents.   He worked for the light company when he was 19.  His job was to climb poles with those spikey boots.  He remembered one winter when they had a terrible freeze.  Every power line in two counties was down.  They worked hour after hour for days out in the cold.  As soon as he could he went to the Phillips 66 plant and applied for a job.  They told him he had to be 21.  He said, "I'll be back."  And as soon as he turned 21 he did go back.  He retired from Phillips 35 years later.   He used to smuggle cigarettes in from Mexico and sell them to his friends.  On one of those trips the lady who ran the hotel on the Texas side warned him that they were cracking down on that sort of thing "in case he was ever thinking of doing it."  He took her advice and never did it again.    The stories went on and on.  He stopped long enough to take care of his business in Lake Jackson, eat some lunch, and take a shower in Bay City.  I managed to stay awake and interested until just before we reached Houston.  That's when I suddenly realized he had started another story and I jerked awake.  I apparently didn't miss too much, because I was able to follow the whole thing.    We made it back to St. Luke's.  He stuck around to spend the night.  Chris and I headed back to Galveston.    2 Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."   Father, thanks for the time with my father-in-law today.  Draw him close to you as his wife nears death.  Amen.