In Bill's Words

Christy Clanton

My most fond memory, without a doubt, was waking in an early hour of the morning to sit in the kitchen with him eating cornbread drenched in a tall glass of buttermilk.  As he did at any meal, he would mostly stare out of the kitchen window while he ate.  There was not a lot of chatter in those early morning conferences, but what was said was some of the most heart-felt exchange we ever shared.

I remember being embarrassed at the home of a stranger when I was thirteen.  I was very teasingly corrected when I voiced my outrage and discuss for the horseradish kept in their refrigerator.  It seems that I collected a bit of misinformation from Pawpaw regarding the use of horses’ feet in the production of horseradish.

I don’t think that many of the grandkids could possibly forget his gumdrop trees.  Early in the morning in the thick fog or just as the light faded in the sunset, Pawpaw would make his journey into the tree line not to return without locating the treasure of a sweet Gumdrop branch.

To this day when I rarely find myself in the position of breaking and shelling beans, I have a compelling desire to watch an ancient episode of Hee-Haw and snack on those old orange foam peanuts.

I learned at a very young age Pawpaw’s lacking desire for break-dancing.  BJ and I would showoff to him our talent for the trendy dance and were often recognized with a literal kick in the butt.  Even if he had to chase us the length of the house, he would hold nothing back to show his appreciation for the art of break dancing.

Pawpaw was a man that held the answers to the world in his right pocket, but generally chose the stories from his left one that filled his need at the time for a good laugh.  I have found as an adult that this logic works well with small children and does indeed serve as a pleasant chuckle.