MY GRANDFATHER
My grandfather turned 91 yesterday. I called him and i had to scream because at 91 his hearing is not as good as it used to be but i asked him how old are you and he said 15 so he still has a sharpmind. He still drives to church and to town which makes my grandmother go crazy because she says he drives wayyyyyy too fast. I love listening to his stories about his life. You have to remember things in America have not always been like it is now. My grandfather was born in 1917 and his grandparents were slaves and still in 1917 blacks were not considered equal or “real citizens”. My grandfather tells stories about how growing up there were 2 different water fountains, bath rooms, and schools for blacks and for whites. Even in restaurants blacks hadto go to the back to pick up food because they were not allowed in the restaurant. My grandfather tells me about how he was the first black in my hometown to own his own company, a home remodeling company. Where his competitors would threat to kill him if he got too much work or worked in another city or how after he finished his clients would not pay him and then call the police and say he was trespassing. He bought his first house in the early 50’s and he paid the mortgage with his retirement money from the army which was a whopping 7 dollars…. He was the first black person in my hometown to have house insurance and as he is telling me this story he laughs and says we have come a long way in this country. In his lifetime he has lived through the great depression, World War II, Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, The Iraq Wars and the worst president of all-time George W. Bush. He should know, he has seen a lot of them. Now in his 90’s he has 3 loves God/Church, family, and baseball….