Thursday, October 10, 2013
I recall observing conversations of Bampaw & others who debated passionately on topic of religion & politics. I personally, recall only a couple of these conversation in which he and I engaged.
As a child who loved to pretend, I experienced more of the playful side of Bamps. We played games together. He played hide and seek with me, or as he called it "run around the go around". Where he would sit in the kitchen and count us down and the kids would run around the house from the living room through the kitchen and down the hall. Squealing of course, as if he where chasing us. One day he built a desk in the kitchen that blocked off the hall and ended our romp in the house.
He hated ending our fun, so in turn he showed me where I had colored with pen on the wall....just one little place, which he never painted over. And for years just painted around it, leaving my scribbles as artwork seen only by the few.
When I was very young and he built houses in Sapulpa, my mom, siblings and I would stop by a work site and take him a "cold drink" from McDonald's. He would save the circle punch outs from the electric boxes for me! They were about the size of a quarter and I believed I could exchange them somewhere for real money! I was rich! When I left the job site I had pockets full of these coin treasures.
He was famous for nic-names and endeared me to him with always calling me "Sarah Beth-eo". My family, today, carries on this tradition of nic-names.
I think of Bamps every summer when the Colorado sun heats our house up to above 80* and we need to turn on the attic fan. The one in our house came from his house...a fitting donation from a builder...I'm blessed each year by his generosity.
