I Loved Grampy

By Bill Melchior

This is a story of a young boy (Bill) growing up under the influence of his grandfather (Grampy). Bill's dad travels for his job and Grampy becomes a role model for Bill. Bill learns many lessons from his grandfather. He learns about everything from fishing to religion to dying. Grandfather teaches Bill the same values he taught his father years earlier. Enjoy this light hearted look at the adventures of a young boy and the things he learns as he matures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bill Melchior
• Release date: Jun 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310816567

Bill Melchior

Writing humorous books like "Lessons of Youth" and "I Loved Grampy" has established Bill as a successful author in the genres of humor, and life's experiences. He continues to write new and exciting books which captivate his reading audience. He was raised in St Louis, MO. Bill has had an interesting life including college degrees in science and education, a franchise sandwich shop owner, and a high school science teacher. He makes his home in St Louis county with his wife Karen.

Book preview

I LOVED GRAMPY

by Bill Melchior

Smashwords Edition

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1)INTRODUCTION

2)CHAPTER 1 MY DAD

3)CHAPTER 2 MY GRAMPY

4)CHAPTER 3 GRAMPY AND GOD

5)CHAPTER 4 THE FISHING TRIP

6)CHAPTER 5 GRAMPY’S SICK

7)CHAPTER 6 THE FUNERAL

INTRODUCTION:

I LOVED GRAMPY

My grandfather was the best grandfather a kid could have. Most of my memories were fond ones. Everyone in the family called him Grampy. People always seemed happy when he was around. He loved me unconditionally and taught me so much about life.

My name is Bill. I would like to share with you how much this one loving individual influenced my life.

CHAPTER 1

MY DAD

Dad traveled a lot. Being a traveling sales representative for a pharmaceutical company took my dad away from home at least two weeks a month. He covered four states: Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Arkansas. Grampy became my surrogate father. He knew the importance of a male influence on boys and Grampy was determined to mold me into the same honorable young man he’d molded my father into all those years back when my dad was a kid. You could see my grandfather’s influence on my dad. They shared many of the same ideas and mannerisms. Both were conservative, God fearing men who respected God, family, and country.

Dad could be loving and understanding, but you had better shoot straight with him. He had no patience for excuses or a song and dance. This was another trait he got from my grandfather.

Dad was a stern man who made the rules but he was always fair. You knew exactly what he wanted. Follow the rules and everything was fine. If you didn’t follow the rules there were consequences for your transgressions. I can recall once being told to cut the lawn on a Thursday night when I was seven years old. It was to be done by noon on Saturday. Noon on Saturday rolled around and the lawn hadn’t yet been cut. Worse still I was watching Saturday morning cartoons without a worry in the world. Dad came into the living room at noon, shut off the television, and quietly said, What were you supposed to have done by noon today? I knew perfectly well what I was supposed to say, but I decided to be a funny man. I quipped, The grocery shopping? His sarcasm indicated his displeasure, Okay Mr. Wiseguy, the lawn needs to be cut and the garage cleaned by three o’clock today or no television for a week. At three o’clock both chores were done. I would rather not eat for a week than give up television.

Dad and I loved sports. We especially loved baseball and football. We watched football on Sundays during the football season. The American Football League started in 1960. Before that there was the National Football League. We had the Sunday routine down. Eat breakfast, go to church, turn on the television when we got home and watch an afternoon of football. We raided the cabinets for any snack foods in the house. Many times dad threw some hot dogs on the grill and we ate them while we watched the game.

He and Grampy shared their love of baseball when he was a kid. A tradition was being passed down from one generation to the next. This is where I developed my appreciation for a good hot dog and soda. To this day I cannot go to a game without having a hot dog and a cold cola. The other benefit of doing this is if the game isn’t