Words From My Grandfather

 One of the great resources in life are your grandparents. Sadly, most of us don't utilize their words of wisdom until it's almost too late. By that I mean it isn't until we're out of our 'It's all about me' stage, our teen years, that we begin to understand the important aspects of life. It's then that we sit down with them and begin asking questions about their lives. I know it was that way with me. My paternal grandfather passed away at the age of 87 in 1975. He was one of the greatest men I've ever known. Grandpa wasn't what we'd call educated by today's standards. Actually, when he was eight years of age, after he'd learned to read and write, his father forced him to drop out of school and go to work. That's the way it was for many families, especially immigrant ones, before end of the 19th century in this country. So it was for Joseph Anthony. The year was 1896 and at the age of 8 Joe went to work on the railroad. He toiled ten hours a day for ten cents carrying water for the men who were laying ties and track for the Rock Island Railroad.

I could regale you with a variety of life's experiences told to me by my grandfather but I saw a post this morning that brought back one special memory. On a Sunday morning I was visiting with him and he told me about some very poignant words his dad told him when they arrived in this country. The family, all ten of them including mom, emigrated to this country from Germany. Over the course of a couple decades the family lived in Milwaukee, Moline, Illinois, Boone, Iowa and, finally, Spokane, Washington. Anyway, German was spoken by all members of the family. Great grandfather, one evening early on, sat the family down in their living room and said to all of them: "You're allowed to speak German when you're in our home but when you leave through the front door you will speak English because we're all Americans now." 

As earlier stated I saw the following post this morning and realized how life has changed in this once great nation. I miss my grandfather.