Stories with Granddad J.C.

Granddad J.C. is a soft-spoken Southern man. He is kind and thoughtful, but oh! can that man have a good laugh! Many times his jokes will sneak up on you, and all of a sudden you're laughing about something he just said. I can picture the scene now: a group of my siblings and I are visiting with him and Grandma. Granddad is telling a story about his childhood in his deep, rumbly voice. He and Grandma both were excellent story-tellers and Granddad was particularly good at getting us to laugh.

One particular story I remember Granddad telling was from Christmastime when he was a child (if I remember correctly):

One Christmas when Granddad J.C. was small, his parents bought a HUGE bunch of bananas -- we're talking the size of the ones you see on the tree -- for a Christmas treat. Unfortunately, his parents got the bananas a week or so in advance, so all the kids were salivating as they waited for Christmas to finally come.

Sometime before Christmas, my great grandparents had to go on a day-long trip. They knew the bananas were in danger of being eaten, so they put the bananas in their bedroom and locked the door.

Well, one of Granddad J.C.'s brothers couldn't stand the temptation any longer, so after he tried the door, he tried the window to his parents' room. My great uncle could just barely wriggle through because it was a very small window, but he made it!

Well, if a boy ever had a feast, that boy did! He ate and ate, and then ate some more. He ate all the bananas that he could hold. He ate so many bananas that he couldn't fit through the window again! He just had to wait there until his parents got home, and take his punishment.

When Granddad told us this story, he had our sides aching from laughter! He's told some other good ones, like how he had Grandma convinced that 'J.C.' stood for Julius Caesar until their wedding day, when the preacher read, "And you, Julius Clyburn Connell ..." Another good one is the story of shortly after their marriage, Granddad took Grandma to a work party and couldn't remember her name when introducing her to his boss because he'd always called her "Honey."

What a great set of grandparents I have! I couldn't have picked better ones myself. And since I have such wonderful grandparents, that means they raised their kids right, so I have amazing aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am a lucky woman!

EDIT: It turns out that the banana incident happened to Granddad's cousins.