I suppose I will always remember my paternal Grandmother as one of those rare individuals that always put others first and self last. There was no ego. No trying to make herself look better than someone else. She just always tried to do what was right and fair and it didn’t matter who was involved. Whether you were the richest person in town, or the poorest in town, it made no difference. You were no better than anyone else.
She lived in a small town that I have often said reminded me of Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show. Everyone knew each other, both the good and the bad. Just good people. People that were hard working and actually had integrity.
She was a real champion for those that couldn’t speak for themselves or were mistreated or taken advantage of. She was a true servant at heart. Always making sure that everyone else’s needs were met before her own. In fact, she later became Mayor of her little town. I was so proud, my Grandmother the Mayor. She managed to improve the City’s water supply and was able to have the County’s first Nursing Home built in her City. Her natural abilities to serve others were just fulfilled even more as Mayor.
I have always been a rather picky eater. As a young child, she noticed that I loved spaghetti and would eat spaghetti even if I wouldn’t eat vegetables or anything else that was prepared. Rather than do what most adults would do which is to say, “you eat what I prepared for you, or don’t eat at all,” she spoiled me and made spaghetti. In fact, every time we visited and ate with her she prepared a special batch of spaghetti just for me. She remembered. And, she continued doing this up until the day she passed away. As I got older, I noticed that not only did she prepare spaghetti for me, but she prepared a special desert for someone else; or a special vegetable for another. She wasn’t happy until she knew she has pleased someone else.
Suffice it to say that I learned the real meaning of “it is more blessed to give, than to receive.”
