In 8th grade, as he was getting ready for school, his father told him that his schooling was over, he had to go to work. He never felt any bitterness or remorse, even when the other younger kids got to finish. He read constantly and was a smart man, educated in the real world. I always marveled at his inventions....simple things that served their purpose. He worked for Southern railroad restoring and repainting trains. He was a small farmer...25 acres of crops and cows. I intend to restore his 53 Ford Golden Jubilee tractor which he bought new. I only have a 1/2 acre yard, but that aint the point.
I have never heard ANYONE say anything negative about him....probably the only person I could say that about.
The man had the patience of Job, I never saw him loose his temper.....but Dad says he made Papa mad a few times.
Papa told you exactly what he thought about anything with no regrets.
I remember as a little boy always wanting to go see the cows. He would load us up in his little blue Datsun 620 with the red door, Later the 70s C10 Chevy, bounce down the old dirt rut road and chase the cows up from the creek bottom for us to see. As an older kid, we would sit on the tailgate and drag our feet in the dirt as we drove down there.
Papa's take on facial hair: " I wouldn't cultivate around my mouth anything that grew wild on my backside."
He set the bar pretty high for the rest of us.
