A is for April

For most people today is the first day of April. A day for practical jokes. For me it's March 32nd and it's been that way for 36 years. The cruelest joke of all was getting a phone call, telling me that the second most important man in my life had died. That would be my grandfather.

Let me tell you about him. Grandpa was born in Newquay, Cornwall, England on June 1, 1907. He and his family came to the US by way of Canada in 1921. There he met and married my grandmother. He was a brick mason and carpenter so his hands were always rough and dry. He was small in stature but it didn't matter. He played the mouth organ and concertina...(squeeze box). He also sang. It's probably where my love of music comes from. He was also a talented artist.

During my childhood he had lots of pets. Yes, the normal dog and lots of tropical fish. But he also had a raccoon, South American fruit squirrel, and an ocelot.  I grew up around these animals and his vegetable garden. It was nothing to spend the day with a cup of sugar and a stalk of rhubarb.

Grandpa talked about his family still in England, but he became a naturalized citizen of the US. My father is his eldest child. There were three others two girls and another boy. Grandpa loved them all and he loved his grandchildren. He wrote long letters to me when I went to Girl Scout camp. He later two finger typed letters to me when he moved to Florida.

I regret that he only saw pictures of my daughter and that she missed knowing him at all. This year seems to be the worst in a long time for missing him. I'm not sure why.

So, while A is for April my April begins on the second and that's tomorrow.

TTFN