Things that are cool about Pop, # 14

I was doing some work on my computer when I realized that I'd made a mistake.

Me: Oops! I made a mistake.

Pop: You made a mistake?

Then he smiled really mischievously and said,

Pop: I'll tell ya what, I have never made a mistake!

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We were eating supper--my version of King Ranch Chicken Casserole. Pop was asking about where everyone had gone. He asked about his kids and his little brother, and then:

Pop: Where is my wife?

For those who don't know, our pat answer is usually that she is visiting her eldest daughter in a town 2 1/2 hours away. When we try to tell him that she died 15 months ago, he gets really upset. We just quit telling him. As it is, we had already had Alzheimer's for about four years when she died, so her death isn't part of his reality. Therefore:

Me: Well, she is visiting Sharon for a few days. They're going to do a little shopping.

Pop, grinning: They won't be doing a LITTLE shopping. They'll be doing a LOT of shopping! :)

The Porch Swing

Pop's swing has been hanging out on his front porch for many, many years. Originally, it was his middle daughter's swing. Her grandpa made it (or bought it) for her, but--at one point--she decided to hang it at her parent's house. Pop likes to sit outside and swing on his porch to enjoy the slow pace of life here in Buna.
Well, y'all know all about the Second Law of Thermodynamics, yeah? Here it is in layman's terms: Once something has been created, it begins to break down. This is exactly what happens to Pop's swing. Here is a picture of the Thermodynamic swing:

You can't notice it from this picture, but the left back is separated from the front "bench" portion of the swing. For at least the last four months, only one person could safely sit on the swing at a time. If two people did sit on it, well, then, one of them would be sitting precariously. There was always the chance it would break off completely and someone would go head over heels backward into the bushes. Pop's kids had been discussing it off and on for awhile and had even priced a new one to replace this broken one.

I tried to get pictures of both swings from several perspectives and this shot of Tipper hiding out from the sun in this cool little nook next to the house was one of the results.

I saw a picture online somewhere today. This was me trying to see if I could recreate it. The picture showed a flower in the foreground--a close-up--with some other things in the background. I was seeing if I could get some of the greenery right in front of me with the old swing in the background. I wasn't wearing my glasses--which are broken--so it didn't turn out well; but, at least I'm trying, yeah?
Anyway, on with the story. Last week, Pop's eldest daughter and one of his grandsons came to visit him. They noticed the swing in all its disrepair. The grandson--who is recently graduated from law school and awaiting a job offer--spent all of last week building--from scratch--a new swing. The grandson told me that he based his swing on the swing his parents have hanging up at their home somewhere. He chose stain colors which looked "masculine" even.
Here is the finished product:

And, here is a picture of Pop on his brand new swing, built by his second youngest grand-boy. It is a beaut, ain't it?

Things that are cool about Pop, # 10

Pop had been sitting on his new porch swing for nearly an hour and a half. I had sat on it with him for a little while, but the heat got to me so I went back inside for a little while.
I looked through the window to check on him. He was standing by the chain link fence gate, watching the dogs. As he opened the gate to leave the front yard, I asked him,
"You gonna come inside for a little while, Pop?"
"Nope." He said, matter-of-factly. "I'm not much of an inside dog. Know what I mean?"

Things that are cool about Pop, # 9

I was sitting on the couch with one of those round laundry baskets in front of me. I had just taken the last piece of clothing out of it to fold. I needed that space to put another laundry basket in front of me so I could fold those clothes, also. I intended to put the round basket on the other side of the coffee table, but--in the process of doing that--the basket turned on its side and rolled away in an arc toward Pop. I intended to get up and get it, but Pop grabbed it first. He put it on its side and rolled it back to me.
I laughed out loud. I know it seems such an odd thing to find humorous, but Pop has this unique sense of humor. The look on his face when he rolled the basket indicated that he was being mischievous and giggly-hearted. I just really like seeing this playful "Daddy" part of his diminished personality. Seeing the man he must have been long ago peeking through the haze of his Alzheimers is always a pleasure--and laugh inducing.

Things that are cool about Pop, # 8

It was about 8:45 p.m. and Pop and I were in the den. I was sitting up on the couch reading and Pop was in one of the recliners "watching t.v." He was really dozing. His eyelids were bouncing--slowly--up and down. It reminded me of his great-grand-daughter, Lily, trying to fight sleep.

Since it was near 9:00 p.m. (Pop's normal bedtime), I asked him if he was ready to go to sleep yet. He replied in the negative. "No, I don't think so."
"Really? are you sure, Pop? You look pretty tired. Here is what you are doing."
I waited 'til he was watching me and started mimicking the up and down bounce of a sleepy baby. When I was done, I looked up and saw Pop winking at me and grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"See?" he asked me, grinning still. "Did you see what I did?" He winked at me again.
"Yep" I responded, grinning myself as I winked back at him. "You were winking at me, Pop!"
He grinned again and said, "Yep, I was. Maybe I can do it again sometime soon."

Things that are cool about Pop, # 7

Wearing the shades was Pop's idea. See how rockin' cool he is?

Things that are cool about Pop, # 7

Even when he is being stubborn, he is polite.

We were out taking an evening walk.

Pop: Well, I'm about ready to turn around and go back home. You?
Me: That is a great idea, Pop. Let's do it!

We turned around and headed back home and then a few moments later...

Pop: Well, I'm about ready to go back home. You?
Me: We are headed home, Pop. We'll start seeing it up ahead of us in a few minutes.
Pop: Nope. We need to turn around. It is behind us.
Me: See those trees up yonder? Our house is right behind 'em.
Pop: Well, I know who is wrong and I know who is right. And I'm right.

He was too polite even to tell me "You are wrong." I was thankful that I was walking a bit ahead of him otherwise he'd have seen the huge smile on my face.

Things that are cool about Pop, # 6

Pop: Where is everyone?

Me: Well, Dale is just down the road at his house. He is prolly eating dinner with his wife, Chrissa, and his boy, Cole. And I'd imagine that Marilyn is home with Alan and Kyle.

Pop: Well, where is my wife, Mary?

Me: Well, Pop, I heard Marilyn say that she is staying a few days with Sharon over in Houston. They're going shopping. They might spend all your money. Whaddya think about that?

Pop: Well, I think they could do it, don't you?

Things that are cool about Pop, # 5

We were watching the beginning of The Andy Griffith Show and--as I am wont to do--I was whistling along with the theme song. I'd never heard Pop whistle, so I asked him, "Pop, can you whistle?"

"Sure," he said and he began to whistle a very basic whistle. We whistled together for a while and then Pop stopped abruptly.

"I can whistle for girls" he said with a straight face and I laughed out loud.

"You can?" I asked.

"Yep. See." he said and then demonstrated by whistling a very manly construction worker wolf whistle.

Things that are cool about Pop, # 4

I had just finished making some banana bread for our lectureship this weekend. I was singing. I was dancing. I was cleaning. The Black Eyed Peas' tune was blasting from my IPOD docking station.

Y'all know the chorus, yeah?

" i gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night

that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night."

So, I'm cleaning and dancing and singing and when the song ended, Pop--who had been looking at some things which were lying on the sideboard said to me,

"Well, I'm sure hoping for a good night tonight!"

"Me, too, Pop. Me, too!"

I can't help but laugh at how naturally funny this 82-year-old man is--just naturally living in a world which has changed some much since he was my age--half his life ago. He often brings a smile to my face. I wonder how he'd like Billy Joel? ;-P

Here is a great video of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K21cZ65jVHY

Things that are cool about Pop, # 3

Pop and I were having a midnight snack--literally. It was midnight--of homemade cookies. I had made them the previous afternoon.

"Whaddya think of the cookies, Pop?"

"They're pretty good."

"They have chocolate chips, pecans, coconut, and bananas in 'em."

His eyes widened, and then he replied, "Well. They have everything in 'em, don't they? If ya can't survive on these, then you can't survive on anything!"

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Moments later, we were still munching on the aforementioned cookies. I picked up a cookbook which I'd recently received for my birthday. While flipping through it, I read aloud the names--and sometimes the ingredients--for several recipes.

"Roasted Red Pepper Soup" I read.

A look of disgust came over Pop's face just before he replied, "I don't believe I'll have any of that, Thank you."

Things that are cool about Pop, # 2

I was doing the dishes when I noticed that the handle on the pan I was washing had come a little loose. I turned to Pop to ask if he knew where the screwdrivers were located. As I asked, I rummaged around in the sideboard and eventually found one. "YAY!" I cried as I carried the tool over to the sink and began to fix the pan. The 'fix' only took about twenty seconds and I asked Pop "Isn't it great how easily that was fixed, Pop? Not any great hassle, yeah?"
"Well" he said, "I'm just glad I wasn't hit with it!"
I laughed and said "With what, Pop?"
His voice held a smile as he said, "Well, with that pan! Used to be that women would hit their husbands with pans!"
I knew he was kinda kidding, so I played along. "What!?! Surely most women don't hit their men with pans, do they?"
"Yep, they do!"
"Well, Mary never did hit you with one, did she?"
"No." he said quite seriously, "She never did beat me up with a pan. No one really did."
"Really?" I asked, disbelief in my voice, "So you weren't beaten up by any of your classmates when you were younger?"
He turned around to look at me squarely in the eyes and said, "Well, here is how it was: There were 9 boys and 3 girls in my family. People pretty much left us alone!"

Things that are cool about Pop, # 1

He recognizes the flag and refers to it in respectful ways.

I was listening to my Italian language cd on the way home from supper tonight. I was distracted so what Pop said as we neared the "cross-roads" didn't sink in for a moment. When it did, however, a huge smile popped up on my face.

"Old Glory is flying high today, isn't she?"

Even with the confusion that comes hand-in-hand with the Alzheimers from which he suffers, he remembers the nickname of the flag of our nation. How cool is that?