More January Birthdays

I find it amusing that today is a birthday shared by two people who could not be more different. First, today is my mother in laws 60th birthday! Sharron has been a great friend to me. I truly love her. She is the mother of eight grown children and a grandmother to twelve. All under the age of 5! I miss her a lot and wish we could be with her today to celebrate. She is amazing with children. All of the grandchildren love her. She gives them all such special attention. She has been holding Grandma Day for several years now and I am anxious to be back just for Grandma day alone. I love you Sharron, thank you for all that you have done for me.
Another birthday today is my grandfathers. He passed away the same year as my grandmother. Not long after her. His name was Melquiades Valenzuela Paredes. He went by Mike. Oscar shares his middle name. This man I could write for days about. The lab coat and hat? Kind of a uniform of sorts in my mind. My grandpa was larger than life. He drank, a lot. I didn't realize until I was older that most people who drink don't consume that amount of Sunnybrook in a day. Santa also drank some Sunnybrook outside the house before he came in on Christmas Eve. Grandpa kept these bottles in a boot, in the garage, in the car, in a drawer. When he was older and didn't remember that he drank we found these everywhere. He tiled the front patio of the house in upside down beer bottles that you would fly across after a rain. He smoked at least a pack a day. He told me daily that I was pretty, "pretty ugly that is". He once told me he was an Indian and grew up in a tee pee, something I told my teacher who then wanted him to visit the classroom. These things are not meant to be read as anger or embarrassment toward my grandpa. This was just who he was and I loved him. He could be mean sometimes but he was charming also. He told a great story. Once he was ballet dancing and his toenails were so long they caught the stage on fire. He hopped a great deal of freight trains. He watched a lot of Westerns and told me that the cowboys and Indians were fighting over ketchup and mustard. He did work in the mines. Virginia City and I believe the Copper Queen. I remember some from when he was working. He was the chief operator at the sewage plant in Carmel then. But, mostly I remember him after retirement. There were a few really tough years when I was older. But then, he started to forget things. With a little dementia he was a whole new person. He told amazing stories. After seeing the movie Babe, he was on constant lookout for the person who stole his talking pig. He had lent it to someone and they were cashing in. He was holding Chiang Kai-shek prisoner in the basement of the liquor store. I really believe that God made this hapen and softened him up a bit to leave us with the good parts of my Grandpa. He was fun and he did love us. I knew I wouldn't see him again when I left California after my Grandma died. I sat with him on the couch, trying to soak him up. He said, "Have you met my partner Mattie?" I think so Grandpa. "She's a good girl, little big though, I told her, lay off the groceries." I miss him, his whistling, his silly talk radio at 3 in the morning, his singing, yelling "don't swing the door loose!" when we got out of his truck. The way he would never, ever, serve himself as much as a bowl of cereal. Sometimes, I even miss him drunk. I can smell him sometimes. Just for a second. Cigarettes and whisky and aftershave. Happy trails Grandpa, until we meet again.....