Life with a Waldron Boy

Gumpy meets Ema, her version

2011-09-05T13:28:00.001-04:00

For many years, my understanding of my grandparents relationship came through Gumpy's stories. We spent many hours on the golf course and many more working around the farm together. Since his passing, I've prodded Ema a bit more to get her version of things. Gladys and I stopped by the farm a few days before our second wedding anniversary to spend some time with Ema. It had been a few weeks

It really did take a village

2011-08-03T02:32:00.002-04:00

Someone reached out to me yesterday on this blog to ask if I could promote a new program the Knight Foundation is sponsoring in Detroit. The new initiative is called BME (pronounced be me) and it is designed to amplify the good works of black men and boys in the city. Philly residents can participate too. What piqued my curiosity about was a post for the Knight Foundation by Trabian Shorters

Saying goodbye to another good man

2011-08-01T01:42:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday (July 23, 2011) was the memorial service for Cleo Prescott, although he passed away in January at the age of 85. He was a volunteer firefighter in Vermontville, eventually serving as their fire chief for 20 years. He was a mail carrier, serving Vermontville's rural route one for many years. He sold tractors in the family business, he cooked in the Army during the Korean war and

Golfing with Gumpy on Father's Day

2011-06-19T05:57:00.000-04:00

My favorite memory of Gumpy on Father's Day was the year my grandparents took us to Idaho to visit my Uncle Jim and his family. It had been only a few weeks since my dad declared that he wasn't going to be living with us any longer, which was the beginning of my tumultuous teenage existence. I was angry, confused, hurt and generally unpleasant at best to deal with. We arrived in Lewiston a few

Skinny the Baby

2011-06-13T14:24:00.000-04:00

When I was 14, my grandparents took my sister and I on a wild adventure to Washington, D.C. Okay, wild is a bit much. The closest thing we got to wild was watching our first drug bust in a parking lot inside the Great Smokey Mountain National Forest. The trip was fun, even for an angst filled teenager. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, took a tour of the White House, wandered around the

My watch

2011-06-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

I don't wear the watch Gumpy gave me for my college graduation very often. I usually save it for special occasions or big meetings where I think I need just a little edge. I wore it last night again, this time for the graduation ceremony at Maple Valley High School, which I attended to help hand out the awards for the Maple Valley Memorial Scholarship Foundation. My high school graduation was

Hallenbeck Farm

2011-05-17T01:53:00.000-04:00

Written May 12, 2011 It’s been a while since I spent the night at the farm. One year, 11 months and 18 days to be exact. The night of Gumpy’s memorial service was the last time I spent the night here. There are a few more things in the Shrine (otherwise known as Uncle Jim’s bedroom) because Ema is sorting through things again. The crickets and frogs are bellowing as I’m typing. Sure I’m

The glue that held our family together

2011-05-02T03:15:00.000-04:00

Saturday's visit with the old boy This post will be a bit of a hodge-podge. Classes are over for the semester, my mother in law is back home in Tampa and I finally feel like posting again. Thoughts of Gumpy are never far away from the front of my mind. I still cry occasionally and yearn for his counsel. It's been almost two years, and while I know that his suffering ended the day he died,

Growing out of the stories Gumpy left me with

2011-02-24T03:56:00.000-05:00

I've really missed Gumpy a lot the past few weeks. He wasn't one for telling me how to handle something or to tell me what I should do. He was big on telling me about his experience and letting me learn from him. Now that I'm at a point in life that he would have been very familiar with, I really miss the wisdom of his stories. Gladys' mom decided she wanted to stay with us for a few months.

My Early Memories of Gumpy

2010-12-08T16:33:00.000-05:00

Memories can be fickle. They can be vivid one day and fleeting the next. They can cause great sorrow and happiness without rhyme or reason. For me, looking through photos gets me headed down a sentimental path. Going to certain places, eating certain foods and talking with family can trigger other memories. Memories are full of fact and imagination since our minds do not like gaps in

How to Win at Golf

2010-12-04T00:02:00.000-05:00

By the time I was in college, my golfing routine with Gumpy had changed. I went to the farm once a week during the summer, so I only had the chance to work on my golf game once a week. Gumpy, however, practiced almost everyday. While I had the strength and size advantage, he countered with superior knowledge of the course and cunning. That cunning manifested itself in the form of big chores

I Still Give Thanks With Gumpy

2010-11-25T01:22:00.000-05:00

My last Thanksgiving with Gumpy was terrible, yet I would not trade the time with him for anything. The chemotherapy and radiation treatments left his body in a weakened condition, which caused his hemoglobin levels to drop to dangerously low levels a few times. The first time this happened, the treatment was so aggressive to bring him back that it induced congestive heart failure, leaving him

Cancer, I'm Through With You

2010-11-02T10:29:00.000-04:00

Cancer, I've had quite enough of your brazen attitude toward my family. You're going down! You tried, and failed, to take my little sister and my Aunt. You robbed me of my best buddy, Gumpy. You robbed my wife of her father, before I ever had the chance to meet Hilton. I'm pissed at you for that too because I know Hilton was the type of man I respect and enjoy being around, based on just how

Handing me the car keys

2010-10-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I drove almost every time Gumpy and I went somewhere together after I started college. There was little begging on my part, usually he just tossed me the keys on the way out the door. What made this remarkable was how much he loved driving himself. Few people could ever drive the right way. He was very particular about how someone should drive, so

Go Phillies!

2010-10-19T02:55:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with baseball. Countless hours were spent pretending I could field second base or swing the bat like Sweet Lou Whitaker. Baseball games were only televised on Saturday afternoons and I would comb through the TV Guide magazine to figure out of my beloved Detroit Tigers would be on television. Most kids my age watched the Smurfs while I watched This Week In

My Sleepless Night

2010-10-01T04:22:00.001-04:00

Gumpy was always a sound sleeper. This is not to say that he was not vocal, he would carry on entire conversations in his sleep. It was fascinating to know he would talk half the night and not remember any of it in the morning. Then cancer attacked his body. The chemotherapy and radiation treatments left his body so frail that a slight bump would cause an enormous bruise. His balance was

Losing Grandma Lingholm

2010-09-28T01:17:00.000-04:00

Today, my heart goes out to my cousin Susan and my Aunt Anita. For the past few years, they have been the primary caretakers for my Grandma Lingholm. Grandma had broken her hip two years ago, sending her on a downward spiral that eventually caused her to lose her memory, her independence and today, her life. I hope they were able to say what was on their hearts to Grandma. I hope the rest of

Taking Care of the Homeless

2010-09-14T01:04:00.000-04:00

Tonight I witnessed an incredible presentation by Mark Horvath, creator of InvisiblePeople.tv. What made his presentation incredible was the passion he spoke with about the plight of the homeless in American and our misguided efforts to help. Homeless himself, he is putting a face on being homeless. During the Q & A portion of the meeting, he said we need to go back to a Depression Era

Someone Who Believed In Me

2010-08-27T01:19:00.000-04:00

I really miss Gumpy. Life sometimes throat punches me, and he was always great at helping me pick myself up off the mat. While my family and friends love me, their words of comfort are different. I appreciate them, I welcome them, I need them but they are not from Gumpy. It is not that their efforts are good or bad, its just that it isn't Gumpy saying it. He really had a gift for saying the

A Quick Exit from the Car

2010-08-22T02:06:00.000-04:00

Ema had been staying with Mom the past week after Mom's successful surgery to clear up a bone spur in her toe. Her recovery has gone more smoothly than planned, so I am sure Ema felt like her visit was a waste of time in some respects. Her patient was too healthy to help much! One advantage to having Ema downstairs for a week was hearing some of the stories again. Each time Ema starts with a

Cleaning the Well House

2010-08-16T23:58:00.000-04:00

When Ema was a kid, the farm did not have an electric pump to pull the water out of the well. Instead, water was drawn from the well using a windmill. Soon after electricity came to their part of Eaton County, the actual windmill was torn down and the well house was converted to a storage shed. While the building itself was not large, it was full. Gumpy kept his tools, electrical cords,

Afternoon Naps

2010-08-05T02:24:00.000-04:00

Gumpy loved naps. He seemed to always have time for a bit of shut-eye every day, which I think was a habit formed while he was a boomer on the railroad. Long shifts without breaks at remote locations have a funny way of forcing you to sleep at odd hours. His favorite place to take a nap was on a gold couch that had adjustable sides rather than arms. Picture a long beach lounge chair and you're

Habits I've Picked Up

2010-07-28T22:54:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine wrote a great book a few years ago commemorating his dad who passed away suddenly from a heart attach. Eric's book "I Miss My Dad'" helped me enjoy the last few years I had with Gumpy. He has done a great job of engaging people on Facebook too, often asking questions that get me to remembering the good old days with Gumpy. Eric's comment tonight was especially thought

Quietness

2010-07-27T01:09:00.000-04:00

Gladys and I are puppy-sitting for a friend. Mr. Man's pretty little, only eight weeks old at the most. He's so little that he still thinks we are giant dogs with funny barks. Now that he is a little more comfortable with us, I am hoping he will sleep better. Until then, I find myself awake with a squirming puppy trying to calm him down so Gladys can get some sleep. Our loft is surprisingly

Remembering Ema and Gumpy's 50th Anniversary

2010-07-22T22:51:00.000-04:00

Today would have been my grandparent's sixtieth wedding anniversary. I know they had their good times and their struggles. What was remarkable to me was their fidelity to each other right up to the end of Gumpy's life. In some ways, the last decade has flown by yet I remember the weekend we spent as a family as plain as day. The family met at the farm early that Saturday to enjoy time with