100 years ago today...

A loaf of bread cost $0.05, The Boy Scouts of America was founded, Alice Wells became the first female police officer, and my Grandpa, Wilbur (Barney) Gracey Gillespie was born. Along with many others, I always thought Grandpa would live to see 100, and still can't believe he didn't. He's been gone for almost four years now, and is still thought of quite often.

I believe, the picture above is the last one we got of both Grandpa and Grandma together.

Some of the things I remember (and miss) best about Grandpa are:

• His weekly calls to check in on me. I would answer the phone, and he would say "Hey, Sis, how the hell are ya?" When he was done talking, he never said good bye, just hung up the phone!
• His bib overalls. That's all he wore in the last who knows how many years!
• How he would stick his one tooth out at you.
• "Warts on a dog's tail....(bow wow)"
• The way he would yawn REALLY loud.
• How he wouldn't just turn the tv down when he wanted to talk, but instead just hit the mute button. When he was done talking, he would hit the mute button again and you would get your ear drums blown out from the tv.
• The trip to Texas with Grandpa, Aunt Kay, and Dad. Me and Grandpa rode in the backseat together the entire way. Grandpa had the "straws", or tubes, sticking out of his head for drainage because he had fallen a week or so before, Dad had just had surgery on his face, and I had stitches going down my bottom lip and Aunt Kay was the only one without any injuries. When we got down to Texas, we had to find a hospital so we could get the tubes taken out of Grandpa's head. That was an experience, to say the least!
• Aunt Mid throwing a glass of Mountain Dew in Grandpa's face! Of course, it didn't phase him.
• The horses (and trail rides). There was always a horse at Grandpa's and he would always try to get me to ride them.
• Grandpa's flowers. After Joel and I bought our house in Chesterfield, he would walk me around his yard about every time I went over to tell me the different kinds of flowers and usually had to dig some up to send home with me.
• How he would push the floor lamp beside his recliner back and forth while talking to you. I would catch Joel doing the same thing in our old house after Grandpa had died.
• He loved babies, homemade ginger ale, solitaire, and reading.

He also loved his "girls". I think I called him about every day the week before my wedding trying to convince him to come to the our wedding. I told him he could come in his bib overalls, but that didn't work either. He told me too many times to count that he didn't go to weddings or funerals! Below are some pictures of me and Abby with Grandpa. I'm sure I could have found older ones, but these are the ones I came across this afternoon.

Wilbur (Barney) Gracey Gillespie Nov. 24, 1910-Jan. 9th, 2007