Great Grandpa Wedemeier

When I was little I lived with my great grandparents and my mom.  But if you asked me who I lived with, my mom was not on the list. It was my great grandma Irene and great grandpa Wedemeier.  I loved my great grandparents and they had major impacts on my life. Actually, I wouldn’t be here if it were not for them making the medical decisions when I was born. Or taking me in when my mom’s second husband proved to be, well, let’s just say “not a good person”.  My great grandparents came to the rescue. I treasured every moment with them, learned quite a bit from them and at times I wish I’d gotten my great grandfather’s accounting skills. He worked as an auditor of freight accounts for L&N Railroad for close to 50 years. I would think that you’d have to be good at your job to stay at a place that long and make what was considered to be decent money. But I don’t remember him for his work, but I do remember him for his kindness, his caring ways and for Sunday morning comics. He would read the (then called) “funny papers” to me every Sunday morning.  Even when I was too old to climb in his lap to have him read the comics to me, I would sit on the foot stool next to him to watch as he read them. I still look for the comic section of the newspaper first. Grandpa also smoked a pipe and his favorite tobacco was black cherry. I still recall the smell and sometimes out of nowhere I’ll smell his tobacco as if he were in the room. I think that’s his way of letting me know he’s still watching over me and maybe it’s my turn to read him the comics.

Just a flashback kind of day…