This past Friday morning, the sun was shining so brightly and the sky was so blue. The night before, we had such a terrible storm pass through with high winds, rain and thunder. It was so refreshing to wake up to such a bright, beautiful day after such a dark and stormy night.
As I drove to work, I had Prampa on my mind. He hadn't been well since his fall earlier in the month when he broke his leg and had to have emergency surgery. How a 98 year-old man could even make it through a major surgery like that was a miracle in itself, but he did, and we were all hoping for a full recovery so that he would be able to make it through the physical therapy and one day walk again. He goal had always been to make it to his 100th birthday!
But, Jesus had other plans for him because that beautiful sunshiny Friday morning, He called my sweet Prampa home to Heaven. Now he's with the angels, and with precious Grandma, who he has been missing for many years now. I know he's smiling in Heaven and telling every angel who will listen his many stories of a long life spent on earth.
Now it's our turn to tell the stories again and again, to keep our memories of Prampa alive in our hearts and to keep the smiles and laughter present in our lives as we remember him. Mom and her siblings have spent the last few days making all the final arrangements, crying and laughing, sharing with those that are coming to pay their final respects. Prampa was very loved, always happy and such a kind and warm-hearted soul. He had love for everyone around him, never knew a stranger, had a soft spot for animals and loved the outdoors.
In sharing these past few days, one of my Aunts reminded everyone about a funny story back when Grandma was still living. Prampa had been out one evening and he got skunked. He didn't want to come in the house smelling as bad as he did, so when he got home, he stood on the front porch and stripped off all his clothes. He rang the doorbell for Grandma to come and unlock the front door, and when she did, she flipped on the porch light and there was Prampa standing naked as a jaybird for all the world to see! What a sight! I can just hear him now, scolding her about turning on the light and her scolding him right back about standing there in his birthday suit!
And Mom remembered another story about a trick Prampa played on Grandma once when they still had the hen house in the back yard. One day Prampa had been visiting someone else's farm and he found a great big goose egg. He took it home and laid it in one of Grandma's hens' nest. When Grandma went out to collect the eggs and saw that big old goose egg, you can imagine the commotion! I can hear the laughter now. He was always such a joker.
I'll never forget the story about him driving his old truck down the road and it stalling on the railroad tracks. He wasn't supposed to be driving at all, didn't even have a license anymore, but that never stopped him. He couldn't get it restarted, and a train came and ran right into it. Luckily, Prampa had already walked on back home, but he sure scared everyone when they found out about the accident. And just recently, he snuck out of the nursing home and wandered across the road to feed a dog he had seen through his window. He had a piece of chicken hidden in his overalls pocket and he spied on one of the nurses when she punched in the security code to open the front doors to the nursing home. When no one was looking, he punched in the code and let himself out and wandered down the road. One of my Aunts just happened to be driving by when he was crossing the busy street to feed the dog. She turned around and got him back to the home safe and sound, scolding him the whole way. He was quite a character!
So many memories! It's so sad to think of a world without him. What a blessing it has been to have such a wonderful Grandfather. I love you Prampa Johnston, forever and ever!
