My Grandpa Hulse passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. His death wasn't unexpected but it has still hit me kind of hard. This is the man who blessed me as a baby, baptized me as a child, and walked me down the aisle as a young lady. I know that he has moved on to better things and I am grateful that he is no longer suffering but a very selfish part of me wishes that he was still here.
Grandpa was always full of stories. Anytime the family got together, the one guarantee was that Grandpa would dig into his memory and pull out a yarn of a tale. When we were children, he would tell us things like burnt toast will put hair on your chest or that there is a little man who lives inside the ice machine and it's his job to chunk up all the ice for us (there's even a little door on the back of the machine so he can climb out and take a break). As we got older, the stories got more entertaining...to the point that my Grandma would always declare, "Mercy!" But no matter how many times we had heard it, everyone always had a favorite story that they wanted to hear over and over. Mine was the time he and his friend decided to jump off the barn and his friend got his clothes hooked on a nail (which probably saved his life).
Grandpa was also a very talented poet and could recite "The Creation of Sam McGee" on demand. One time, he was having a rough time with some bowel issues and when he complained to my Grandma she said, "Well, why don't you go and write a poem about it?" That my friends, is how the epic poem, "Ode To The Toilet" was born.
Ode To The Toliet
I have a brand new mistress
As pale as she can be,
And when I try to leave her
She beckons out to me.
It seems I can't stay very long
From sitting in her lap
I've spent so much darn time there
I feel just like a sap.
My knees are red from elbow rest
My eyes swollen and red
It's then I wonder if I am
Among the living dead.
I know I should be grateful
And never should complain.
I realize all because of her
She relieves me of much pain.
But, O my soul's desire is
And I truly hope and pray,
That in a not too distant time
I'll visit her just once each day.
Grandpa was always full of stories. Anytime the family got together, the one guarantee was that Grandpa would dig into his memory and pull out a yarn of a tale. When we were children, he would tell us things like burnt toast will put hair on your chest or that there is a little man who lives inside the ice machine and it's his job to chunk up all the ice for us (there's even a little door on the back of the machine so he can climb out and take a break). As we got older, the stories got more entertaining...to the point that my Grandma would always declare, "Mercy!" But no matter how many times we had heard it, everyone always had a favorite story that they wanted to hear over and over. Mine was the time he and his friend decided to jump off the barn and his friend got his clothes hooked on a nail (which probably saved his life).
Grandpa was also a very talented poet and could recite "The Creation of Sam McGee" on demand. One time, he was having a rough time with some bowel issues and when he complained to my Grandma she said, "Well, why don't you go and write a poem about it?" That my friends, is how the epic poem, "Ode To The Toilet" was born.
Ode To The Toliet
I have a brand new mistress
As pale as she can be,
And when I try to leave her
She beckons out to me.
It seems I can't stay very long
From sitting in her lap
I've spent so much darn time there
I feel just like a sap.
My knees are red from elbow rest
My eyes swollen and red
It's then I wonder if I am
Among the living dead.
I know I should be grateful
And never should complain.
I realize all because of her
She relieves me of much pain.
But, O my soul's desire is
And I truly hope and pray,
That in a not too distant time
I'll visit her just once each day.
That classic ode has a prominent place in our home!
When Emma heard that Grandpa had died, she started to cry along with me. When Michael asked her why she was crying, she said, "Cause Mom and I are both named after him." I am very proud to be named after my Grandpa and I hope and pray that I am able to live up to his expectations and make him as proud to be my Grandpa and I am to be his granddaughter.
