A Portrait

A Portrait Of My Grandfather

I called him Papaw Culps.

He called me Cafe (Kafee).

My grandfather lived to be 94. He never changed, just aged. He was a small, thin man who was hardworking, full of energy, full of fun, and full of love for his family.

I gathered some of his things together to show you who he was.

• an old wooden cigar box - He didn't smoke cigars, but he kept little bits of his life in them.
• Gideon Bible - He was a strong Christian.
• oil can and wrench - He was always tinkering on something or building something.
• glass bottle - He had a bottle tree in his front yard that was even featured in the newspaper one time.
• backhoe belt buckle - He worked in construction, usually operating a large crane. He was part of the crew that built several bridges in Arkansas.
• coin purse and lucky coin - He always had the coin purse in his pocket.
• cuff links - He probably only wore them on Sundays. Papa was always in work pants and a long sleeve shirt even in the hot humid summer.
• purple rock - He was a collector. He had large crystal rocks around his flower beds.
• collapsible metal drinking cup - It was dented and well used. My guess is he kept it on the dash of his truck for use on the job site.

My favorite memories with Papa were when he loaded us all up in a large wagon behind the old tractor and took us for a ride around my Uncle's land. Sometimes we picking blackberries from the wagon, sometimes we headed down to the pond to fish, and later we shared the ride with our children.