31 Days: Grandma's Wisdom~ R & R

She married a hard working man.
He had a work ethic like none other, and a drive to support his family.  This meant that when work was scarce he was working more than one job.  Times were tough and when they first arrived in California his brothers and father lived and worked beside him.  As his brothers eventually married and moved out, and his own family was rapidly growing, the monthly expenses increased.  He continued to work two jobs until about 1958.

Grandpa had retired by the time I came along.  But some of my earliest memories of Grandpa come from sitting on his lap in the easy chair asking him about his life.  I would ask him about the Rail Road and his job there.  I was fascinated that this old wrinkled man had worked so hard to put up and maintain so many miles of rail back in his day.  Almost as if asking him to prove that he did it, I would beg him to flex his muscles for me.  It never ceased to amaze me how his bicep would swell into this softball sized knot of hard rock muscle! (Almost like Popeye when he ate his spinach).
I loved to hear my dad tell the story of Grandpa on the line.  He speaks of how he was surrounded by young men, hot in the California sun taking their shirts off to stay cool and yet in Grandpa's wisdom, he would wear his undershirt, shirt and handkerchief all day.  The young men thought him foolish, and would tease him, but he took it all in stride smiling and working beside them, knowing they would understand soon.  You see, as the day grew hotter and he would perspire, the breeze would blow cooling the sweat on Grandpa's shirt, and the young men received less relief because their sweat had evaporated in the hot sun. Wisdom gained from experience!
This was the man my Grandma chose to marry.  Ever vigilant, providing for family, working hard and living with integrity.