Grandpas and Geekle

I've made mention of my Grandpa many times in the past. Grandpa was always my favorite... and he knew it. Barely a day goes by that I don't still think of him in some manner. I loved him and miss him very much. Today marks the anniversary of his death. He passed away on this very date, December 14, 1999. So it seems kind of fitting that I should honor him today by sharing some of my favorite Grandpa memories, stories and facts.

Whenever Grandpa had me and my brother in the car, he would always get lost and need to consult a map, right in front of the Dairy Queen.

Grandpa always smelled of Certs and would hum while he was driving.

Grandpa taught me how to play cards and how to 'sit in the bushes'. But he'd never let me win.

Grandpa loved baseball, his favorite team being the Cincinnati Reds. He collected baseball cards his entire life and, as a result, accumulated quite a prized collection of vintage ball cards and memorabilia. In later years, this collection actually served as income for he and my grandmother. They would travel to trade shows and Grandpa became known as "The Old Guy with the Old Cards."

Grandpa was, apparently, scared of heights. I never knew this. I've only just learned this fact within the past month. I was recently given an old scrapbook that my grandmother created of their first trip to Florida. Grandma took this photo of Grandpa on the balcony of their hotel room in Daytona Beach and added the caption, "Love is... standing on the balcony even though one is afraid of high places." Check out Grandpa's death grip on the door jamb. Love it!

During a holiday visit, and after we'd helped our grandparents carry in all their luggage and belongings, my brother and I couldn't help but notice we didn't carry in a single gift. Clearly, we were concerned. Christmas morning rolled around and, of course, there were packages. Grandpa tried to convince us that they did their shopping at the Stop N' Go Quickie Mart after we'd gone to bed, and that all we'd be getting were key chains and bottle openers since the store really didn't have a lot of selection.

Grandpa also liked to give us lumps of coal. I still have all of mine.


He used to tell me that I would one day marry a man named Clyde Updike and we'd have three kids... Headny, Snotty, and Pukey.

Grandpa was a perfectionist. When hanging Christmas garland, he would pull out a ruler and evenly space the distance between each swag. I actually found a snapshot of the perfectly spaced garland. Granted, there's not a whole lot of it showing in the photo, but you get the idea. The lovely lady is, of course, my Grandma.

A kid knocked on the door one day, selling something for a school fundraiser. Grandpa was particularly grumpy and responded, "Johnny can't read or write, but he can sell door to door."

Grandpa used to joke that he was so old, his social security number was 2. This photo was snapped upon the arrival of his first social security check. Big day!

Grandpa was an Army veteran of World War II and served under General George Patton in the European Theater. He never really spoke much about his time during the War but he did make the statement once, to my brother, that he'd hoped he'd been an honorable man.

He taught me how to appreciate old movies and music. It is because of Grandpa that I can honestly rate "White Christmas" as one of my all-time favorite movies and Dean Martin as one of my all-time favorite singers.

Grandpa came up with a concoction he called 'Geekle'. He'd scrounge in the cabinets for anything sweet... sugar, corn syrup, peanut butter, vanilla, etc. Then mix all the ingredients together in a pan, bring the mixture to a boil until it was a candy/fudgey consistency. Next he'd pour it onto a dinner plate and place that plate into the fridge to allow the Geekle to set. Once it was set, he'd take a butter knife (and me) and we'd head to the couch to sliver off bits of the Geekle. It was sugary heaven!

I'll admit, even today, when I'm having a particularly bad time, I'll make a batch of Geekle and curl up on the couch. Grandpas and Geekle still have the ability to make everything better.

ROBERT L. MEYERS, 78, died at 12:35 a.m. Dec. 14, 1999...