It was abright  summer day in 1956 when  John would pack his suitcase for the trip,well me being the prankster always  hid some crazy object in his  case.  This time he checked his case  throughtout, wow he said you didn't get me this time but as he turned around to see if hiss buddies Jim Peck  Jim Erwin  Jim montgomey.  I quickly  put my little nieces potty  chamber  in  it.  He happily said good bye  you  didn't get me this time.  Ha Ha I laughed as they drove off  you will see.

  While in  college  John used to give his working for the camp each summer.  In deed when he opend his case his friends were amazed that John would put such and item like that in his  suitcase, tthey  Nick got you again.  The great thing he was always  a good sport about it and most of all  he alway's forgave for  my pranks.


  Love you Jhon

Your loving brother  Nick   
    

There are a lot I could use to say about Papa, but writing it all down would take awhile and eventually it would lead to pages of memories. So I’ll just stick with a few that are the starkest in my mind. Though my time spent with him wasn’t as long as others due to the huge distance between California and Georgia, visiting him was one of the firsts stops my family had on our list when we went around visiting relatives.

In my memories of the past the three things that stuck out to me as being things Papa loves were God, family, and gardening. The garden and the backyard filled with family stick out the most. Papa spent his time tending to the seeds freshly planted in the dark soil and walking around visiting all the other plants like they were old friends. He’d scold me when I ate too many tomatoes from the tomato plant and told me about the sweet-tasting plant Finocchio that always filled the side walkway with a sweetened licorice smell.

Whenever the family gathered together around plastic mismatched chairs in the backyard, Papa would sit and listen. He seemed to prefer to just listen to us all talk loudly and lively, content with just being around everyone. That yard with the trimmed grass catching the evening sun as me and my cousins ran across it and the cactus and lemon tree shaded by the huge tree towering next to the house are mixed in with the taste of bread crumb meat. Papa was a man of few words and when he did have something to say it was usually pretty important and meaningful. 

Papa was the one who introduced me to fried eggs and to this day I don’t think anyone can make one quite like his. When I’d stay at his house, fried eggs and back rubs were usually on the lists of things that were done during the day. Giving him a back rub would earn me pocket change, but as a kid I felt like a billionaire.

Papa used to say "God willing" a lot, especially as his health declined. God willed and took papa home. God willed and gave me and my family so many great years with Him. God's will I may not always understand, but I have to trust in Him and know that it will be done according to His plan. Though the pain of losing my Papa still weighs heavily, I can find comfort in knowing that he’s gone on ahead to heaven where caner won’t ail him and where he can be with Jesus for all eternity.