So on Monday of this week, I drove to Creston Iowa for a project at work. On the drive I had the windows down, it was a beautiful morning outside. Nice and cool, probably in the 70's. As I was driving between Osceola and Creston, I was hit in the face with the most amazing smell of the countryside. Let me back up and just say, there is something about Iowa countryside with the rolling hills and pure sweet smells that release from the earth in the morning and different times of the day for that matter. Those of you that live/d out in rural areas know what Im talking about ... there is a certain odor in the morning hours and then in the afternoon and then evening. Maybe you havent noticed, maybe your sniffer doesnt work as well as mine, but they are amazing and I pray that an awakening of your schnoz happens while you read this. :)
Anyway, back to the drive, as I was driving and this scent drifted into my car I was immediately snapped back to when I was 4-7 years old. My grand-dads were awesome, both displayed an amazing love for me that was constant, deep, and strong. Strong in the sense of the word and strong in how you expect a father figure to love. They were quite different though, Stanley(Grandpa Miller, my dads dad) was quiet, gentle, but stern. Grandpa Miller wasnt crazy active in my life, but it was all good, because it wasnt about the number of times we spent together, but the quality of the times I had.
Then there is Grandpa Connett(Gail/Robert - moms dad) that this post is even being birthed from. So Grandpa C - GC from here on out, was active in my life growing up early on and from what I remember we would spend A LOT of time together during the summer. My aunt and uncle moved to Minnesota when I was around six or so, leaving GC all to myself. :) During the summer months, it seems like we would go fishing a couple times a week. Now when GC wanted to take you fishing, you spent the night and were up at like 4-5am to get the jump on the fish. Fishing mornings consisted of waking up super early and GC would cook breakfast on a camping stove(green Coleman) out on his deck. Generally it was eggs, Old Folks mild sausage, toast, OJ/Milk for me, and coffee for him. He would then pack up an old Thermos brand thermos with the rest of the coffee. Oh and depending on what we would be fishing for, the previous day we would head to the store. If catfish were in our sights, he would pick up a container of chicken/turkey livers, this would totally gross us kids out. What was worse, is he would sit those livers in their container out in the sun the whole prior day before going fishing. So back to the scent memory, which I think are absolutely amazing. Its so wild how we are so wonderfully made that experiences, can snap us to such sweet times in our lives. So Im driving and this scent came into the car and I was snapped back to a little boy driving through the countryside with my head rested halfway out the window in my GC's 1970's copper colored Chevy 1/2 ton pickup. Wind blowing in my face/hair and that sweet morning scent of the Iowa countryside ravished my senses. I would float in and out of sleeping, trying to get fueled up for the most amazing, lazy, wonderfully relaxing(to a six year old) time with my Grandpa Connett. Just he and I, sitting in a boat, on a lake, all alone, fishing the day away.
My GC is passed, but if he were here, I would tell him ... I love you grandpa! Thank you for loving me, thank you for serving me, thank you for the time you insisted on spending with me. You were an amazing man!
