Grandpa to Me

You never truly know how much someone means to you until they are gone. All of the hot summer days spent at her house, the home cooked meals for lunch, the daily routine of watching game shows on GSN, the hours and hours of playing monopoly, and working the concession stand at Evans Park for the summer are now just cherished memories that I have with my grandma.

The name Reeder is a family name that comes from my mother’s side of the family. Reeder was my mother’s maiden name before she married my dad and became an Atkins. The Reeder family are farmers that have worked their whole lives to have something for themselves. In Pontotoc, MS I have a farm supply store that was named after me called Reeder Farm Supply my granddaddy Ellis Reeder owns the farm supply store. I really didn’t know much more about the Reeder side of the family so I decided to ask my granddaddy what he knew about them. He told me that the Reeder’s date back to the eighteenth century to Mr. James Reeder and he married Mrs. Maryann Reeder. They had seven children and four of them died. The three that lived were James Reeder Jr., Claire Reeder, and John Reeder. These three would have been my great great grandparents. Claire Reeder, and John Reeder never married James Jr. was the only one who married. James Jr. married Myrtis Reeder Barlow and their children were Ellis Reeder and Bill Reeder. Ellis Reeder married my grandmother Mary Jean Reeder and they had four children Kelli Reeder, Lance Reeder, Lynn Reeder, and Jay Reeder. Bill Reeder married Scarlet Reeder and they had one child and his name was Bill Jr. This is all I really know about the Reeder side of my

I am aware of who my father is, but as of right now we do not have a relationship. My dad is a revolving door dad, which means that he has come in and out of my life as he pleases. I noticed that it is a domino effect because his father was not in his life either. His father I really wouldn’t classify as my grandfather because I can count on both hands the number of times I’ve seen him throughout my entire lifetime. In actuality, I really do not consider him as my grandfather because he did not take care for me or treat me like a real grandfather would. The man whom my grandmother is married to today for almost 40 years now is my grandfather and I value the relationship I have with him because he took me in as if I was his own.

I was born during the 1920’s in Southern Alberta Canada and Montana. My tribe and I lived there most of our lives. We are known as the Blackfeet tribe. When I was born my real name was “Pitamakan” and was given the nickname “Brown Weasel Woman”. My father was a very important warrior in the tribe and taught my how to fish and hunt by age 12. My mother was against the idea of me doing the things boys learn but, my father helped me learn. He eventually taught me how shoot my own buffalo. Later in my life, our camp was attacked by the Assiniboine and my father’s horse was shot down. I knew I had to save my father’s life so, I ran back on the field where I could get killed and saved his life. We celebrated my victory by singing the Victory Song

My mother’s father, James Kenneth Hicks, was born in Maud, Texas, on the farm where his parents were living, on May 7, 1941. There was not a doctor there at the time so many years later he had to prove that he was born at the farm house that day. His father, Charles Ennis Hicks, but everyone called him Red, was 37 years old at the time of my grandfather’s birth, he worked the farm that they lived on, but had his side line job of a carpenter. His mother, Obera Hill Hicks, was 32 years old at the time of my grandfather’s birth, she always had the job of being the home maker for her family. They had a total of 12 children, so Obera would cook, clean, and even make clothes for her children to wear. Their oldest child was Charles Burnice Hick, born on December 25, 1929. Edsel Ray Hicks was their next child, he was born on October 21, 1931, and he passed on July 29, 2006. Anita Louise Hicks was the oldest daughter, she was born on May 4, 1933. Chymill Sure Hicks was the next daughter, she was born on February 14, 1935. The next daughter was Barbra Dale Hicks, she was born on October 31, 1936, and she passed away on November 11, 2001. Margaret

Pap wants his son to be like him, a drunk that has nothing to live for and is living off his son. He sees that his son is succeeding in life and doing well in school. Instead of congratulating him, he laughs at him calling him a girl when he mentions the picture frame, “He took up a little blue and yaller picture of some cows and a boy, and says: “What’s this?” “It’s something they give me for learning my lessons good.” He tore it up,

My grandfather, J. King Burk, is a man of very few words, but if you get to know him you will come to find that he has been through a lot in his lifetime. My brother and I have a connection with him that most grandchildren don’t have with their grandparents because he was with us when our parents separated. He understands how difficult it is to be raised by one parent, he helped raise my brother and I, and I go to him when I’m making important decisions.

On April 10, 1975, my father, Donald James McDaniel was born in Lantry, South Dakota, in a bathtub. When Wanda Lee Parker-McDaniel went into labor, she locked the doors of the small bathroom and sat in the bathtub. In order to get to Wanda, my grandfather, William Dean McDaniel, had to take the hinges off of the old door and completely take the door down. Eight siblings welcomed Donnie into the family that day. The names of the eight older children were Kathy, Dean, David, Carolyn, Brian, Sheila, Michelle, Timothy, and Donald was the new edition. Tragically, Donnie’s mother died when he was only 4 years old. His father, who many call Bill, was a very hard worker who was not super strict. When he was the age for school, Donnie began at Lantry School. He attended the small school

My father is just like my grandfather in almost every aspect of their lives. In my opinion, I think that my father got most of his qualities from my grandfather. My grandfather is loving and caring with his whole family and you will always see him involved in family actives. He is just as hardworking as my father and taught my father how nothing is ever free and you have to work for everything in life. That is exactly the same thing that my father has taught me as I was growing up. My grandfather came from a small and poor place in Cuba called, Pinar Del Rio. However, with a lot of hard work and sacrifice he was able to move and relocate most of his family down to Havana, Cuba or somewhere near there. After moving down to a city he knew nothing about, my grandfather had to start from scratch and make a way of life. Just like my father, my grandfather never said no to anyone and would always find a way to help everyone out. My grandfather and my father both have many of the same qualities and looking at them side by side everyone can agree how similar they are to each other. Like my father, everyone in my family can agree that my grandfather is a great person and loved by his whole family. In addition, his kids and grandkids love him so much to the point that they paid for him to get an open visa to be able to fly from Cuba to the United States as many times as he wants because of

Although we are in different fields, I feel like I have already started to emulate my father by learning from how he got to where he is now. My father had a child (me), got married, then completed his education and now has a great job and a business that is different from his field. I started a sandal wood plantation when I was 14 as a hobby that my father got me in to. Now the trees are over 10 years old, and I have plans for lotions and harvesting in the future. I am now close to completing my bachelor’s degree and I have a job lined up for me after graduation at a company I have dreamed of working at for so long and I am engaged. I feel like I am emulating my dad by how I have planned out each step in my

My Grandfather was one of a kind. But I always forever hated despised when my grandmother’s ex-husband would visit frequent; he was always angry, volatile, and short tempered. I hated it. Who is this guy, and why do I have to talk converse with him; I always heard whispers about him, and I did not know what it meant to have lost your mind in Vietnam, but my mother told advised me to be courteous, and go along with it, and years later my mother told informed me the mindless man was my maternal grandfather, and he has passed away. Damn, I never

Unlike my parents, I spent my most of the summers with him. We often fished in local lakes, and went on trips around the town. He was my childhood best friend. As I recall hearing from his friends, he was a joker, often times pulling pranks for kicks. However, occasionally he would show his affectionate side. For instance, if he saw one of his friends struggling to pay their bills, by no means my grandfather would not hesitate to help a friend out. Taking this into account, he became my idol, who was remembered for being compassionate, and well mannered. However, I gradually grew detach from him when I grew up. In a more serious light, I frequently look back at a lesson he gave me before departing back to China. Specifically, he talked about my future, that I should pursue a career outside of the family restaurant. I would take his advice into consideration, a year after he died from cancer. His death was devastating and it broke me. His death brought sorrow to that still lingers today. However, my grandfather's death provoked an epiphany. I decided to I wanted to follow my grandfather's wish and become a doctor. To this day, he serves as my model. I cherish his caring nature and I wish to become that man that was loved by

I always have thought of my mother in a good light, even though she wasn’t always in the right. Whenever her and my father got divorced, I found myself taking her side much more often than my fathers. The end result was me favoring my mother and blaming my father (Royal). My mother did raise me well and did help shield me from the anti-Semites and dangers of youth. Also, she helped me become a mature, well-mannered person like every mother should. On the other hand, my father had much less influence on me. Ever since I was young I have resented my father, and for no particular reason (Royal). It was always my mother and I against him, and when they divorced I blamed my father, when in actuality, it was my mother’s fault. She had cheated on my father and left him for another man. Even when I figured out it wasn’t his fault, I still took my mother’s side despite her mistakes. My father was always a scapegoat to me, and I gave him the burden of blame in most situations (Royal). Since then, my father and I have made up, and our relationship now is better than ever. I am eternally grateful for my parents and I have the utmost respect for them despite my actions in the past towards my

For many people, Grandpa is a storyteller, someone to go fishing with, and someone who has your back no matter what. The experience I had with my grandpa was a little different. I never got the opportunity to meet my great-grandfather Liston Grider, but he still somehow managed to have a huge impact on my life. Sometimes my mom would tell stories about him; happy memories from her childhood, sad ones that were painful for her to tell, and everything in between. I thought I had heard it all, but this past summer I learned something about my great grandpa that would perhaps impact my life forever. This story was not told by my mom like usual, but by someone who was a complete stranger to me. The lessons I learned would not be taught in a single day, but over the span of a month through a series of Facebook messages and letters in the mail. The words I read upon opening those messages and letters would change my life forever, permanently transform my beliefs, and show me what it truly means to be an American.

He is very smart. My Grandpa has read many books. In fact, I think he already read over fifty books in his entire life. All this knowledge from books and experience of living for many years make him smart. Certainly, I know he is intelligent because I see it when we have a conversation. For example, he starts telling me about interesting facts or stories about other parts of the world. Next, Amilcar is very respectful. He knows how to treat people with respect. Amilcar has friends that, over the years, have done bad things to him and he stills treat them with respect. As an illustration, he told me once “Treat others how you want to be treated and everything will be good for you.” Furthermore, my Grandpa is an optimistic man. For instance, he tries to show me the positive side of things. For example, one day I was angry and I started cursing everything when my Grandpa told me that instead of being mad I should be counting my blessings. Amilcar is always expecting something good whenever he goes. In particular, every time I see him he has good news for me. All of this is what makes my Grandpa have a unique