In Memory of Grandpa Gary

Sorry, there's no TGIF Top 10 today. I'm leaving today for the weekend and won't have time to post and I couldn't think of a cool Top 10 to do, so if you have any ideas, let me know.

Tuesday was my Grandpa Gary's birthday. He died on Christmas Day of 2008. My family has a tradition that on his birthday and on Christmas, we have danish (from Costco if that's available) because he LOVED it. Sadly, the closest Costco from Rexburg is in Pocatello--an hour away, so I just had to make do with a little Hostess danish. It had 400 calories. I felt so gross after I ate it, but it was totally worth it.

I love my grandpa. Here are just a few things that I love about him:

-He is always so good at making you fall for the dumbest stuff. He makes it sound so convincing.

-He is so sweet to my precious grandmother. She was sick her entire life, but he loved her flawlessly and cared for her deeply.

-He has a great sense of humor...and he passed it on to my dad.

-He has a wonderful mother who I am named after: Eva Caroline Jackson Bullough

-When my parents were newly married and had me and Robbie and money was tight, Grandpa Gary used to pay for us to come see him and Grandma at the beach and at Disneyland.

-He tickles really hard. Even though it seriously hurt, I miss it.

-I love the way he sits in his beach chair. Sun tanning without a care in the world.

-He reads the biggest books known to man.

-He knows everything about U.S. history and war.

-He's a veteran! He served in the Korean War as a commander, I believe.

-I miss playing cards with him. And I miss how he'd cheat.

-He whistles a lot, but it's a different kind of whistle. It always reminded me of Gopher on "Winnie the Pooh."

-He drinks Diet Coke all the time.

-He has a son who is just like him. That son is my dad.

Here are a few favorite stories about my grandpa:

I was too little to remember this one, but it makes me laugh anyway. Apparently, someone cut him off on the way to church and he got mad, so he rolled down his window and yelled, "YOU BIG JERK!!" My grandma got on his case about that because, "Gary, we are going to church!" One of the songs they sang in Sacrament Meeting that day was "Did You Think to Pray?" The 2nd verse goes like this:
When your heart was filled with anger,

Did you think to pray?

Did you plead for grace, my brother,

That you might forgive another

Who had crossed your way?

My family started laughing and he looked at them and said, "What?!"

When my grandma died, they got a double headstone. It had his name and the year of his birth with a dash. When my dad was visiting one time, he and my aunt took Grandpa to Grandma's grave. Grandpa laid down under his half of the headstone, closed his eyes, and laid his hands on his chest and said, "Byron, take my picture!" My aunt didn't think that was funny.

When Robbie came home from his mission, he had to be tested for tuberculosis. One night at dinner, Grandpa made up this song. It goes to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean."

My girl she has tuberculosis.

My girl she has only one lung.

She coughs up a bloody solution

And dries it and chews it for gum!

Good thing we were almost done eating. Ha.

We went to Mongolian Barbecue when Robbie came home from his mission and our waiter was soooooo attractive. He was tall with blonde, curly hair; big, blue eyes; and a great smile, of course. His name was David (yep, I still remember). My grandpa asked him, "How are you today?" To which he replied, "I'm fine." Then my grandpa looked at me and said, "Well, she certainly thinks so." Needless to say, I turned bright red, but so did the waiter. He was pink and just smiled at me and asked, "Can I get you more lemonade?" Of course, I said yes so he'd have to come back. ;]

And last, but not least, my grandpa graduated from the University of Utah* and this was his cheer:

We are the men from Utah.

We don't give any fuss.

We don't give a damn about any damn man

Who don't give a damn about us!

E Pluribis Unum

One and one for all.

A-men.

A-women.

A-hell.

*Grandpa would always tease my dad about graduating from BYU to which my dad would always reply, "Every good father wants his son to have better than he had." Haha.

I love my Grandpa Gary. He loved John Wayne. My grandma used to say, "It's just wrong for one man to love another man so much." I did this Face in Hole of him in John Wayne's body. Here's to you, Grandpa Wayne. Happy Birthday!

Looks like my dad, huh?