I am the oldest grandchild, and I had Grandmother and Granddaddy all to
myself until my baby sister came along 5 1/2 years later. Granddaddy used
to look at me and say, "You were the first one to make me a Granddaddy." I
have many fond memories of Granddaddy, but in all of my 35 years, the best
gift I received from him was Saturday afternoon, and I almost missed it.
On Saturday morning, I took the train from Atlanta to come home. I was
scheduled to arrive at the Laurel train station at 4 p.m. During the course of
my trip, I kept in touch with my sister, who was at the nursing home with
Granddaddy. He was not responsive, and his blood pressure was dropping
rapidly. I began to get very anxious, questioning my decision about taking
the train, and waiting until Saturday morning to come home. What if I didn't
make it in time? We were approaching Birmingham, and the conductor
announced that they were stopping the train and that we were to get off the
train but leave our luggage. I went from anxious to very disturbed. I
immediately called my husband back in Atlanta and asked him to reserve me
a rental car from the Birmingham airport. I told him I didn't know where we
were going to be let off the train, but that I would get off the train and figure
out how to get to the airport. I couldn't wait around to see when the train
would resume its journey.
We got off the train in front of the Irondale Alabama police station, not
knowing what was going on. I grabbed all of my luggage and told the
conductor that my grandfather was dying and I was finding another way
home. I called a cab company and told them that I was at the police station
and needed to get to the Birmingham airport ASAP and then waited.
Looking back, I can see why a cab didn't rush to pick up a slightly hysterical
woman who said she was at the police station and needed to get to the
airport ASAP.
As I was waiting, I was very frustrated, asking, "Why God, does this have to
happen today? I need to get home." A lady came up to me and asked me
why the train was stopped. I told her we didn't know and then told her that I
had gotten all of my luggage off the train and was trying to get to the airport
to get a rental car to get home to Mississippi before my grandfather died.
She told me she was taking me to the airport. Thanks to this good
Samaritan, I got to the airport, got a rental car, and arrived at the nursing
home around 3:15 p.m.
When I arrived, I saw my family surrounding Granddaddy, and I saw
Grandmother and Granddaddy's pastor and friends surrounding the family.
Over the next 90 minutes or so, we recalled stories from several decades
about Granddaddy's role as a husband, father, grandfather, servant, and
friend. We laughed and we cried. Friends came and went. As it got closer
to his passing, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace envelop the room. We
talked about how his inadequate physical body would no longer constrain
him. We talked about how he would be reunited with those who had gone
before him, and we talked about the hope of being reunited with him in the
future.
When Granddaddy died, I looked at my watch. It was around 4:40 p.m. I
immediately said a prayer of thanks, because I had my answer to my cry of
frustration earlier in the day of "Why God does this have to happen today?"
Had the train stayed on schedule and not been evacuated, I would have
continued my trip, arrived in Laurel no earlier than 4 p.m., and probably
would not have made it to the nursing home in time. But it seems that
Someone with greater understanding and power than I was in control.
During times like this, we often talk about what was important to a person
during his life. But there is no greater testament or witness to those things
than the activities that surround them as they pass from this earth.
Granddaddy's faith and his loved ones were the most important things to
him, and he lived his life every day as evidence of this, up to the last breath.
When I walked out of his room, I was sad, I was physically and emotionally
exhausted, but I was renewed and revived in my commitment to my faith
and my family. I thank God for the gift that Granddaddy gave me Saturday -
- it was as if, on his way out, he sprinkled some fertilizer on the seeds he
planted and cultivated in me so long ago to remind me of what's most
important in this life and beyond.
myself until my baby sister came along 5 1/2 years later. Granddaddy used
to look at me and say, "You were the first one to make me a Granddaddy." I
have many fond memories of Granddaddy, but in all of my 35 years, the best
gift I received from him was Saturday afternoon, and I almost missed it.
On Saturday morning, I took the train from Atlanta to come home. I was
scheduled to arrive at the Laurel train station at 4 p.m. During the course of
my trip, I kept in touch with my sister, who was at the nursing home with
Granddaddy. He was not responsive, and his blood pressure was dropping
rapidly. I began to get very anxious, questioning my decision about taking
the train, and waiting until Saturday morning to come home. What if I didn't
make it in time? We were approaching Birmingham, and the conductor
announced that they were stopping the train and that we were to get off the
train but leave our luggage. I went from anxious to very disturbed. I
immediately called my husband back in Atlanta and asked him to reserve me
a rental car from the Birmingham airport. I told him I didn't know where we
were going to be let off the train, but that I would get off the train and figure
out how to get to the airport. I couldn't wait around to see when the train
would resume its journey.
We got off the train in front of the Irondale Alabama police station, not
knowing what was going on. I grabbed all of my luggage and told the
conductor that my grandfather was dying and I was finding another way
home. I called a cab company and told them that I was at the police station
and needed to get to the Birmingham airport ASAP and then waited.
Looking back, I can see why a cab didn't rush to pick up a slightly hysterical
woman who said she was at the police station and needed to get to the
airport ASAP.
As I was waiting, I was very frustrated, asking, "Why God, does this have to
happen today? I need to get home." A lady came up to me and asked me
why the train was stopped. I told her we didn't know and then told her that I
had gotten all of my luggage off the train and was trying to get to the airport
to get a rental car to get home to Mississippi before my grandfather died.
She told me she was taking me to the airport. Thanks to this good
Samaritan, I got to the airport, got a rental car, and arrived at the nursing
home around 3:15 p.m.
When I arrived, I saw my family surrounding Granddaddy, and I saw
Grandmother and Granddaddy's pastor and friends surrounding the family.
Over the next 90 minutes or so, we recalled stories from several decades
about Granddaddy's role as a husband, father, grandfather, servant, and
friend. We laughed and we cried. Friends came and went. As it got closer
to his passing, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace envelop the room. We
talked about how his inadequate physical body would no longer constrain
him. We talked about how he would be reunited with those who had gone
before him, and we talked about the hope of being reunited with him in the
future.
When Granddaddy died, I looked at my watch. It was around 4:40 p.m. I
immediately said a prayer of thanks, because I had my answer to my cry of
frustration earlier in the day of "Why God does this have to happen today?"
Had the train stayed on schedule and not been evacuated, I would have
continued my trip, arrived in Laurel no earlier than 4 p.m., and probably
would not have made it to the nursing home in time. But it seems that
Someone with greater understanding and power than I was in control.
During times like this, we often talk about what was important to a person
during his life. But there is no greater testament or witness to those things
than the activities that surround them as they pass from this earth.
Granddaddy's faith and his loved ones were the most important things to
him, and he lived his life every day as evidence of this, up to the last breath.
When I walked out of his room, I was sad, I was physically and emotionally
exhausted, but I was renewed and revived in my commitment to my faith
and my family. I thank God for the gift that Granddaddy gave me Saturday -
- it was as if, on his way out, he sprinkled some fertilizer on the seeds he
planted and cultivated in me so long ago to remind me of what's most
important in this life and beyond.
