Grandpa Burns

Love in a Jar!

Grandpa's Salsa...he LOVED the way the kitchen smelled when there was a pot of salsa on the stove....and he LOVED handing it out a couple jars at a time when his children and grands came home during the year.

During Grandpa's hospitalization, Aunt Lunette would often mention to nurses and Drs. that Grandpa and Grandma had put up 900 jars of fruit and vegetables this past fall. It was Lunette's way of saying....you have no idea just how active my Dad has been up until the time of his hospitalization..... he's not a feeble gentleman but a vital human who is in control of his own destiny.

On the morning following his funeral I had scrambled eggs topped with Grandpa's salsa...and I tasted it....along with the onions and tomatoes, Dad had stirred a generous portion of love into each jar!

On the tables at the dinner after the funeral...Grandpa's pickles held center stage...along with his much loved gumdrops! Grandpa's pickles...are the BEST!

If next summer...you should happen upon a crate or two or five of Colorado Peaches size 44 or 46 ...or Grandma's preferred 40.- Here is how Gma and Grandpa put up their peaches. Grandpa and Gma's peaches have been known to soothe a sore throat, offer comfort to a college student away from home for the first time, and serve as a perfect first food for an infant exploring all the new textures real people food have to offer...and they are pretty good eaten for no reason at all as well.
 

Joe set up a perfect memorial shot to Grandpa in the kitchen tonight....all that's lacking is "Angels We Have Heard On High" in the background.

Dad on Beverages

A number of years ago....Dad saw a neurologist in Fargo. As part of his exam the Dr. asked him how much coffee he drank a day. Dad replied, "Three." The Dr. said,"Three cups of coffee a day isn't bad." Dad quickly corrected him..."NO, three POTS!" Dad loved his coffee.

Dad always insisted that he could tell the difference between regular coffee and decaf. He would declare with confidence that decaf didn't have any dang taste and he'd rather do without than drink that slop. Mom however felt quite certain it would be healthier for both of them to join the decaf team. One of the first weeks after accepting a job with Knight's. Dad came home and confided in Mom that he felt jittery, was having trouble sleeping and feeling generally irritable. The moment of truth had come...Mom had to confess that the can of regular coffee that he believed she had been making was in fact a decoy, that she had been filling the full bodied Folgers can with decaf for a couple of years.

As much as Dad loved coffee....his feelings were just as strong concerning alcohol. It wasn't the he begrudged anyone their glass of wine or cocktail...he just couldn't stand the stuff. As with everything in Dad's life there was a story telling why.

Dad was newly discharged from the Navy and we kicking up his heels a bit. One Saturday evening found him in a car with Earl and Cora Bloom headed to a dance in Waubay. On the way, Earl stopped and purchased a pint of Everclear Alcohol (100 proof) and a large bottle of a sweet soda to mix it in. Dad didn't like the taste of that sweet soda, so he took a large guzzle of Everclear straight out of the bottle. Sicker than a dog, puking his gutts out is how Dad described his trip back to Webster. "The stuff tasted so vile, and I was so sick I wanted to die, but it sure cured me of having a thrist for the nasty stuff."