Coolest guy I ever knew.

Yea, broke the mold on this one.
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All my life he told me, "I think it's great, the whole country celebrates my birthday". I don't guess I really knew until the day I was honored to help carry him to his final resting place that he, once again, had spun a yarn.
You realize that he called me Jerry all my life.
He taught me to always keep a coffee can in the garage. You figure it out.
He said ALL women need love, every one of them. Seems he did his best. haha
The day he left I noticed a bus from the senior center (at 90, he won the Valentine's Day dance there)pulling up. The main thing I noticed was that it was full of women, that's all that got off that bus. I smiled to myself and said "Pops, no doubt, YOU are the man". Told me he outlived 2 wives and 3 girlfriends. I suspect he had more girlfriends than that.
One story I will never forget. For his 90th birthday, we took him to J.C. Penny at the mall to have some pictures taken. We are there and in walks a too tall, too blonde, too friendly camera person. She just had a fit over the old man. He was handsome, he was sweet, he was this he was that. I warned her. Hey, lady, you tell him what to do and he'll do it. Sit like this or that, hat on or off, smile now, whatever, but LEAVE him alone. Don't pick at him or flirt with him. She didn't listen. When the session was over, we stood up to leave and she made her final, foolish mistake. She walks over and bends down (doubt Pop's was much over 5 feet tall) and tells him what a pleasure it has been for her to take his picture today. That's when he struck, OMG, he reached up and put his little hands on the sides of her face and kissed her smack on the mouth! I thought I would wet my pants. I still remember that little grin of his and that look on her face. Priceless! I told her, "hey, I warned you".
He loved hugs, short man like that......loved to hug tall women best, I'm betting.
He told me that years ago he asked Miss Addie if he could take her widowed sister on a date. She said no, because he had to show her something. Well, he leaves the mountains and goes down to the Bell Bomber Plant and gets a job. Then goes over, not far from there and buys a house. Once he had done that, he went back to see if he could have that date now and she said yes. That was the beginning of a too short story. He took her and my mom to that house and he managed to stay for many many years. Right up to just shortly before he left this life. He had an apple tree in the back yard that had several different types of apples on it. He had a touch for growing things. Always had a garden. I was walking around the house with him one day and he hopped up and kicked both feet at the same time, kicked himself in the backside. He told me that as long as he could still kick himself in the butt, he'd be fine. He was in his 70's at the time.
He had this song he sang to kids. If you had a fussy child, if you could get it into his lap and he started singing that song, that kid had no chance. In minutes, he or she was asleep. Not really a song, just soft sounds. Wish I had that. I told my mother one time that I wanted to be like him, just a nice old man. It doesn't work that way. It's not something you can become, you either are or ..........not. It wasn't just women, everybody loved him, because he loved everybody. How else could he have married my grandmother? Somehow.......they just fit. Saw him walk through the kitchen, both of them in their 70's. As he walked by her, he patted her bottom. She kinda made a fuss, but not really.
He used to walk to that senior center. Put on his suit and tie, fedora and walk out in that hot, humid Georgia summer, down a good ways to hang out. I'm not sure how far it was, but most people way under 90 wouldn't have done it, especially in that heat.
He was a piece of work, that one. He used to make things out of wood. He made little rocking chairs and we had a table made out of tree branches. He had a lathe in the garage he was always messing with. He could do cane weaving, man, I have wished many times that I would have paid more attention to him and spent way more time with him. He really knew alot. I watched a movie where an old man told his son, "Sometimes I think God forgot about me". Then he remembered. Well, he remembered my Pops too. I couldn't even desire to have one more day with him. It was time and he was ready. It doesn't stop me from missing him though. Well, happy belated birthday, you ol' story teller, and happy 4th to everyone else. And by the way, it was July 1st, 1904 not, well you know.