"God said, " It had to be
somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed,
weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant….Somebody who'd bale a
family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then
sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend
his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer."---Paul Harvey
William Dunn. But better know as “Billy” or “Wild
Bill”, husband, dad, or to several of us lucky ones…Grandpa Billy. Grandparents are a special gift and the
memories you make with your grandparents are memories that cannot easily be
forgotten. They are treasures that
you hold on to.
So….unforgettable memories with
Grandpa Billy? Those we’ve definitely got. Some appropriate for sharing, some not so much. But many of my earliest memories are with Grandpa, sitting
in a tractor. During harvest, I’m
pretty sure our mother was THRILLED when Grandpa or Dad offered to take us
rugrats along for the ride. We
would hop in full of energy and lots to talk about I’m sure. Riding with Grandpa was always a treat.
Literally....Grandpa always had the best treats stashed away in his cab, made
with love and packed I’m sure by Grandma Daisy.
Rarely did the tractor even move before Grandpa would say, “Well….I say
we better have a little snack. Don’t ya think?” The ride would usually end with a good long nap for me…one
side pressed against the glass of the cab and the other against Grandpa’s
flannel shirt.
Another one of my favorite memories
of Grandpa came several years later.
I always knew how cool Grandpa Billy was growing up as a child. I mean…he took me for tractor rides,
told funny jokes, and always smiled like he was up to something. But it wasn’t
until high school that I really realized how cool everyone else thought he was. I can remember many of my friends
saying…”Oh that’s your grandpa? He
is hilarious…..you know what he did? Or you know what he said the other day?” Everyone always had a good Grandpa
Billy story to share.
During my senior year of high
school, we were getting ready to play in a home volleyball game. As our usual pre-game tradition, all of the volleyball girls got together to eat a meal and then would create a train of cars to
cruise around town. We would then
follow each other bumper-to-bumper honking…ya know whatever teenage girls
thought was cool, I guess. Anyway..I happened to be in car toward the end of the train of
cruising cars that day. Therefore,
when our line of cars started to go very slowly….inching along….we started to wonder what is going on. And
seriously, who is leading this line of cars?!?!
After several blocks of confusion, I see Grandpa Billy’s pick up truck
pull in to Casey’s and park at an angle so that we could all see him as we drove by. Windows rolled down and all smiles, he
was honking---waving---bouncing around in his truck as our caravan passed. He had been leading our train of cars
that day…..as always wanting to be part of the fun.
Grandpa was always
smiling…laughing…always telling a joke, and having more fun than the next guy.
Grandpa had a way of making even hard work…look like fun. He was a man with a
work ethic like very few.…always willing to get his hands dirty to figure
something out. He loved his family
and his Daisy.
Younger generations, like my own
have a lot to learn. Do we really
understand and comprehend what it means to live 85 years working tirelessly….or
being in a marriage for 65 years…..or leaving people laughing and smiling
wherever you leave….or not needing a smart phone to tell you how to figure
something out? I believe we’ve caught a glimpse of what that means through
Grandpa Billy’s life. We are the
lucky ones….the ones that were able to watch him live his years so that we may
better understand true commitment, hardwork, dedication and finding joy and
laughter in this one crazy life.
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