Bull Durham for Father’s Day

Most dads, including mine, receive a shirt or shaving lotion and big hugs, but on Father’s Day in my family, my granddad was neglected. He was not a man who was outgoing and was not very affectionate. As he got older and so did I he became more important to me, especially after my grandmother died. My favorite event of the year was not Christmas, it was taking him a new bag of his Bull Durham Tobacco. Suddenly, he was a new person. His eyes lit up, he smiled, and I thought I saw a little tear, my hug was the best one ever. What a joy for me, not on Christmas but on Father’s Day. I am a blessed granddaughter. Are you neglecting your granddad on Father’s Day?

My grand daddy Maxwell did not have a lot of classroom schooling – maybe none – but his “schooling” took place on the heels of his dad out in the beautiful farmland of Texas. His education came from the soil of the earth. He loved to smell that black dirt of that field. I’ve seen him pick up a handful and take a sniff. It was his own dirt. It renewed his spirit. I wish I had a picture of him on that green John Deere tractor. I can vaguely relate to his feelings of satisfaction when I turn the soil over each spring to plant flowers and vegetables. I get excited just writing about it, not everyone loves to dig in the dirt.