My Papa Jerry is the next gentleman that I would like to feature.
My Papa has always been someone I have looked up to since I was a little girl. My sister and I used to spend a lot of time with our grandparents, as we would hang out with them at the shop while our parents went to work. Papa owns his own business – has had it for over 40 years now. It is a fabrication shop and roustabout crew, so they work heavily in the oil field. He has grown it into a thriving business where a lot of family, as well a lot of good people work.
When I was a kid, I used to go almost everywhere with him – to the field, errands, you name it, I went with him. Usually our days ended with us getting an ice cream cone from McDonalds. One time, we went to someone’s property to get wood, and I was convinced there was an alligator in the pond nearby. I am pretty stubborn, and I would not let it be. The more I argued with Papa, the less and less likely I was going to get that ice cream cone. Let’s just say, we ended the day without our trip to McDonalds.
Some of the best memories I have are on the lake. One summer memory that is one of my top favorites is when Grandma, Papa, Kim and I decided to go down to Glendo for the day to fish. Kim and I had these worms that had special dirt so they glowed bright green in the dark, while Grandma and Papa used normal bait. We had a bet to see who would catch the most fish that day and what worms worked best! We started catching so many fish that we were knocking the fish off each other’s lines. We laughed sooo hard that day (and Kim and I won the best😊) Ice fishing is also something that my family looks forward to every year. One thing about ice fishing is you don’t need to be by the tip up all the time, so you can go do something else while still trying to catch that trophy fish. We were at Glendo one year and my sister and I found a small cliff where we could go sledding off of. My papa decided to go on the sled with us – and it was quite the sight! We flew off the cliff and then all you saw was snow fly up around us as we hit the ground! I don’t know who was laughing harder – the three of us on the sled or my dad who got to witness it!
One thing that I did gain from Papa is his love for rocks. One year, he brought me back a piece of raw turquoise from a mine (this is where my love for turquoise started!). I was so excited that I put it in my rock polisher and had to wait weeks for it to be complete. For graduation, my parents surprised me and had it set into a beautiful necklace. To this day, it is my favorite piece of jewelry and rock that I have! We used to collect so many rocks to polish and cut them so we could find out what was inside. Those rocks are still displayed throughout my house.
When Papa was in school, his jersey number was 00. So, whenever I could, I would have that exact number. The only sport I could consistently have 00 was in softball – and I still have all of my jerseys with it. All in all, I have the best Grandpa around! I can’t wait to make more fishing memories this summer (and try to out-fish him again).
