As
most of you know my Grandfather, Raymond Young, Bump passed away
recently. He was quite ill and his passing was an unexpected
expectance. I’m very happy that I was able to be there for
Gram-gram the day it happened.
If you want to get technical about it, Bump was my step-grandfather,
but he and Gram-Gram had been married for nearly 40 years, longer than I
have been alive, so he is my Grandfather.
We were all very lucky to have him as our Grandfather.
My memories of Bump are all fond ones. I never saw his raise his
voice, except at the dogs, and he was always quick with a joke and a
smile. He loved golf, cribbage, beer,
and most of all Gram-gram, or maybe beer first. He was very handy with
wood and I have several of his creations in my possession that I have
always and will always cherish.
In eighth grade I did a report on Bump and his involvement in WWII and I
learned things about him that I never knew, and things about the war I
had never read in history books.
Every time I see one of the temporary orange Bump signs I have always thought of him.
In one of those, it’s a small world stories, it turns out that Kate’s
Grand Dad and Bump were good friends. Apparently several years back at
the golf course Bump and Grand
Dad first met when Bump was leaving the club house, he has his WWII hat
on and Grand Dad asked Bump if he bought that hat or earned it. Bumped
responded “I earned this son of a bitch.” It was a start of great
friendship. Grand Dad was also in WWII and both
he and Bump traveled to the same places and fought in the same battles,
they just didn’t know each other and don’t remember if they actually
ran into each other or not back then. When Grand Dad found out that
Bump was my Grandfather I was in!
What I will remember most though, is all the times we played cribbage
together over the years. I will always be thankful for all the times
that he let me beat him, thanks
Bump. I hope someday when I am an old codger I can sit and play
cribbage with my grandchildren, I’m sure I’ll let them win too.
