Thank you all for your stories. My day has been kind of crummy and that has killed all of my conversational abilities. It is nice and calming and lovely to read these stories. Please don't think I'm not paying attention.
Actually, I recall a very moving tribute
here.
Butrflynet
Did your brother get oil on the seat of his pants? No one has mentioned which oil. My family used neatsfoot. Is that even available anymore?
I was lucky enough to know three out of four of my grandparents. They modeled endurance and following one's passion. The grandmother who lived with me died at 97, still with it. She had overcome malaria, typhus, and scarlet fever (with relapse). She would give a great rebel yell if anyone sang or played "Dixie." This seems ridiculous in 2008, but she was born in 1873 and had lost a lot of older family to the war. She was the best conversationalist and story-teller I've ever known personally. She had tales of house parties along the James in the 1890s whose details would make the gatherings of many of today's teenagers seem staid. Growing up with a grandmother so much older than me helped me realize that there's not as much generational difference as some folks believe.
