I never knew my grandmother on my dad’s side. She died within days of me being born.

Looking back, my grandpa was my first, best, friend. He was sort of like my constant companion. He lived with us and we were always together, at least under the same roof. I think I amused him and, at the same time, his presence comforted me. He didn’t say a whole lot, but he smiled easily and enjoyed things for what they were. I don’t remember him ever trying to change anyone. He never corrected people or gossiped about how they “should” act or how they are “supposed” to see things. My grandpa just liked to sit and let the world go by while he enjoyed the production.

My grandmother is said to have been one of the sweetest people to walk the planet. I don’t feel that people tell me that because she is dead, I really get the feeling that she was. She was also, apparently, a bit naive or maybe even an air-head.

My dad likes to tell the story of my grandmother explaining about the time a streaker ran through a gymnasium in her presence. She said that a naked person ran through the building with a paper bag over their head. My grandpa asked, “Was the naked person a man or a woman?”

My grandmother innocently responded, “I don’t know. I told you, they had a bag over their head.”

I can see my grandad grinning right now. I always admired his ability to accept things for what they were. Some people would feel the need to explain why my grandmother should have known whether it was a man or a woman. Many folks would have felt obligated to point out the obvious things that my grandmother missed. Most of us would have needed to interject and demonstrate that we would have done a better job of collecting the information to know the answer to the question.

If there is one thing that my grandpa knew well, it was this…

“Nobody cares how smart you are.”

I think his ability to keep quiet when it was other folks turn to talk is what made him such a pleasant person to be around. He was so smart that he rarely felt the need to demonstrate it. He knew he was sharp, and other folks could sense it because of the way he conducted himself.

You can know it all but there is no need to convince the world of it. You can’t spit out a bunch of words and try to sell it as sense- people just don’t buy it.

Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,

Beefcake