MEMORIES OF GRANDPA BARCLAY

Memories are precious things and some of mine have been brought back to me thanks to the writings of TISH and JOE COOL..TY guys!
My first memory of my grandpa is riding on his lawnmower with him,first we would go out into the field and look for snakes, cuz gramps said they make an aweful stinking mess when ya chop em up and there taint no way to pick up that many pieces a snake.
So out to the field we would go with a gunny sack and a snake grabber,(this was a mickey moused pitchfork with one bent tine)and we would go slither huntin..I love that slither huntin, (oh gramp) and we would walk around kinda crouched down so as not to throw such a big shadow ya see.
And whenever we found a snake he would shout 'HAH I gotchya ya legless bastard!" Yes I learned at 4 years old to shout that out! Boy was my dad proud the first time he took me fishing with him and I grabbed a worm out of the tackle box and shouted at the top of my kiddo lungs "HAH I gotchya ya legless bastard!"(No joke he really was proud,just so long as my mother wasn't around) oops got a little side tracked.
So on with the memories.I will never forget one day in particur, I don't know why exactly, maybe it was the way the sun was shining down on us,maybe it was the smell of the dried out grass, maybe it was the way my grandpa held my small hand as we walked..I just remember the moment,so well that I am now crying! and laughing!.God I miss that man...
After we would gather up all the legless bastards we could find, we would hop on to the mower and go over the field twice, nice and slow,enjoying every moment.I loved the way the cut grass smelled and the warmth of my grandpas chest against my back and the way I felt so safe and loved with his arm wrapped around me.I loved the way the other grandkids where jealous that I was always the one to hunt slithers and ride the mower, I loved the slant of the sun as it would slowly move across the sky.I loved the way he would carry me home at dusk and kiss me goodbye. I loved the way that even though they sent up a high to heaven stink my gramps would shout "HAH I gotchya ya legless bastard"whenever he chanced to mow one over.I loved the smell of his vodka and cranberry juice , and cigarette breath, I still love the smell of a zippo as it takes me right back to grandpas lap and knowing I was treasured by someone no matter what I did. Gutting fish just isn't the same without the old man..I have never caught a snake without shouting.
"HAH I caughtchya ya legless bastard" and I am filled with pride when one of my girls does the same! Thanks for teaching me to spit and so many many more things grandpa Barclay..to a man who always wore a halo and had beautiful golden wings,at least to me..(sniff sniff)