Steve, Granny, and Pap
When Granny and Pap were first married they lived in town in a little place they rented. The house was near King’s Flea Market in Murphy. There were four apartments.
In the beginning Granny and Pap lived in a downstairs unit, but when an upstairs apartment became available they moved upstairs. The rent was cheaper and Granny said the upper unit was nice and clean.
Once they had vacated the lower apartment Kay and Jr. Killian moved in. They had a daughter named Sandy who Granny babysit sometimes while Kay worked.
Granny knew the couple from school. In those days it was common for high school students to drive school buses and Jr. drove Granny’s when she was in high school.
The two couples became great friends.
My older brother Steve was born while Granny and Pap were living in the apartment. Kay and Jr. were just crazy about Steve. They said they could hear him saying his prayers every night before bed.
The friendship solidified in the apartments and lasted beyond the time when both couples moved out into their own homes. Kay and Jr. were always like family to us.
Their daughter Sandy and her husband were living over seas where he was stationed. She became sick and died.
Jr.’s been gone a few years now too.
Recently I was staying with Granny and she told me she’d called Kay to see how she was doing. Granny’s hoping her cornfield beans do good this year so she can share a mess with Kay.
Granny also told me a story I’d never heard about Jr. and his friendship to Pap and her.
Pap was 42 years old when he had triple-bypass heart surgery. He was one of the first people in our area to undergo such a serious procedure. I was only 11 years old.
He had the surgery at Crawford and Long Hospital in Atlanta Georgia.
Jr. came down to see Pap one day after the surgery.
While Jr. was there he asked Pap if he was hungry. Pap said actually he was hungry for some good food instead of the hospital food he’d been eating.
Jr. said “Well don’t you have some family who lives down here?” Pap said he did, his cousin George Jones lived nearby. George had been coming to see Pap pretty much every day.
Jr. got directions to George’s house and before leaving the hospital he called George’s wife JoAnn and asked her to cook Pap a home cooked meal.
Jr. went to a place he’d never been to meet people he’d never met to pick up good home cooked food so Pap could get sustenance and rebuild his strength after having a very serious surgery. I’d say Pap also got sustenance from an old friend coming to care for him when he was in need.
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A true friend stepped in when needed. Loved this story. My brother had a 4 bypass. it was touch and go even he said I didn’t know if I was gonna make it a couple of times.
Your posts always lead my brain off in a different direction from the topic, by one little detail that you might mention. This time it was the school bus detail of students driving! My ‘adopted’ grandparents met because my Grampa Leigh drove a Model A with some kind of bed that he put benches in & picked up the few local high school students. He did this just to be nice (and maybe to be cool) so that the kids didn’t have to walk such a long way. He fell in love with one of the girls, Doris, and they eventually got married after he returned home from serving in Occupied Germany. They are still both alive, married & own a Model A that they tool around in, when he can keep it running! (He always says that he wore out 3 pairs of shoes chasing that girl). The other story was from my great uncle that grew up in the house I live in. We have some steep hills & LOTS of snow where I live. One day the bus driver could not get the bus up a particularly steep & slippery hill nearby. He tried over & over and the bus kept sliding back down. He was almost in tears. My uncle, being a good old farm boy, knew how to drive just about anything. And being 16, wasn’t afraid of anything. He told of marching to the front of the bus and telling the driver to “get out of the seat & let me drive. I’ll get this son of a B**** to the top of this hill!” And he did. Now the drivers for our school district risk losing their job if they even get out of their seat to break up a fight. Can you imagine if one let a 16 drive in terrible weather????
What a heartwarming story..just beautiful!
I believe this is what is meant by “bearing one another’s burdens.” What a great example of brotherly love!
What a sweet story! A true friend surely is a blessing. I love the song by Michael W. Smith. The lyrics say so much. Friends are friends forever, if the Lord’s the Lord of them. The song to me is beautiful. I have lost some really good friends along the way, but I have gained some wonderful ones also. For that I am blessed.
Thank you Miss Tipper for sharing these awesome stories with us here on this platform, we really enjoy them all.
Sounds like Pap definitely had a TRUE FRIEND in Jr. and even though True Friends might be hard to come by these days, if we have one we are very very rich and blessed beyond measure!
True friends are a treasure!!
It seems most of those wonderful friends can only be found in the past. We had such dedicated friends who “would give you the shirt off their back” if you needed it. You could count on them to make unannounced visits, but it seemed natural to just work them right into your plans for the day. I cannot imagine visiting or having a visitor nowadays with no forewarning, but that used to be the way it was done. Family was tolerant of everybody, and their shortcomings were just accepted as part of their character. Occasionally, we still laugh about getting a wrong mix of visitors at our house such as the time an overly straightlaced couple visited at the same time our dear lifelong old friend brought his wife who liked to throw out occasional colorful words. Everybody was made welcome! It is wonderful that Pap had such a dear friend to help when he needed it. I was amazed at some of the people we knew from many years ago who traveled to attend my Dad’s funeral. He was loved by a mix of people and not just the ones considered upright citizens. He had helped out so many children, he would get small amounts of money in the mail many years later.
Was noting the pix. Seems similar to my early married life. Rented dwelling.
My Dad had the 3-way procedure done too. Bragged about being in the “zipper club”. Just was thankful that he survived the surgery! Can’t recall the year now, but thinking it was in the mid to late 70’s. His heart eventually wore out & he passed in April 2001 just prior to Easter.
What an example of a true friend! Thank you for sharing that story! I loved the picture of your parents and Steve. I hope you are having a great early week, Tipper, and the rest of the week is fantastic for you!
Donna. : )
I’ve had wonderful friends like that from my high school days and even today. At first, I thought that Granny was you in the picture. You sure do look like her to me.
That’s Crawford Long Hospital. Dr. Long was known for using ether for surgeries. His practice was in Jefferson, GA and there was a small museum in what was his office. (It may still be there.) Two men he knew were out drinking and one complained about a growth on his neck. The other suggested they go see Dr. Long about it. Dr. Long put ether on a cloth, held it over the patient’s nose and removed the tumor from his neck. We lived near there for about 6-7 years and took a lady that was a descendant of Dr. Long to the museum. She knew of his connection to the use of ether but had never been to the museum.
Old friends: We had two couples to visit us for a week last Summer that we have been friends with since 1980. We had not seen each other in several years but had stayed in touch by phone, cards and letters. That was a wonderful time and all of us agreed that the gettogether was just like we had seen each other just a few days before.
My daddy had to have an emergency appendix operation sometime around 1950. The hospital used ether with him and the only recovery room available was on the maternity floor. Mother said he was pitching a fit when he began to wake up. He always said the first thing he remembered was hearing a baby crying and he was wanting to know if he had had a boy or a girl and how much it weighed. He was teased about that the rest of his life.
I’ve had wonderful friends like that from my high school days and even today. Such a sweet story and I loved the part of them hearing Steve’s prayers at bedtime. I still think you look like Granny. In fact, when the picture first came up on my computer I thought Granny was you before I looked over and saw Pap.
Tipper, last year a very dear friend that I had lost contact with for nearly 25 years lost her husband unexpectedly. she is blind, had been for 40+ years. anyways, I digress, she had her daughter contact my daughter through Facebook. imagine my joy hearing here voice on the phone! within a week I was on my way to see her, she lives 5+ hours from me. I spent a whole week with her. cooked for her, made cinnamon rolls for her. and made chicken and dumplings that we put in freezer along with more cinnamon rolls for her to enjoy after I went home. I’ve been back to see her a couple times now.
why did I do this? because that’s what friends do!
have a blessed day! I’m hoping my garden does as good as yours this year!
Such a sweet story and I loved the part of them hearing Steve’s prayers at bedtime. I still think you look like Granny. In fact, when the picture first came up on my computer I thought Granny was you before I looked over and saw Pap.
Old friends keep on living in our heart – warming us when we need hope, smiles, hugs, kindness. I have several old friends alive and well in my heart – they don’t even know me but something about them gave me friendship and I save them inside until needed. Just like a neighbors tree that I admire. That tree gives me so much pleasure to see, watching the birds flit about, the leaves changing colors, the shadows dancing on the ground. Owning that tree would not give me more pleasure than just seeing it and appreciating it. The memories of old friends bring so much happiness and they continue to bless me.
What wonderful memories of Granny and Pap’s dear friends. Good lasting friendships are hard to come by. Since I moved away from my childhood hometown I lost contact with most my friends. However, I have two that I still keep in contact with once in a while. Our lives are so different, we live in different states, but when we do either see each other or just have a chance to talk on the phone it’s like nothing has changed. We talk as if time has not passed. Yes, we catch up on our families, work, or now retirement, but it’s still feels the same. One friend told me when we get to talk, we just pick up where we left off, just like we did when we first met all them many years ago. That’s how you know you have a good lasting friendship, you pick up where you left off and it still feels great.
Many of mine and my wife’s friends are people that we knew all of our lives. We have known one another and been friends and will continue to be friends literally from the cradle to the grave. This has carried on into our adult, married lives as couples. I recently was able to get back in touch with a high school friend I had not seen in 50 years. I had been looking but could not find any contact information until now. He is having heart surgery to replace a valve on April 20th, the same date I buried my wife 2 years ago, she died during heart surgery. When I look back on my life, I can easily see God has blessed me beyond measure with many friends. True friends and especially lifelong friends are worth more than any amount of money, one reason I chose to stay here and not move off away from family and these friends. They are a big help to me, now trying to live without my wife. Many of the boys from my high school senior class from 51 years ago are having lunch together on Thursday.
Tipper,
I am so thankful that you got to keep your Daddy all those years after the heart surgery and that he was blessed with being able to continue with his music.
That surgery was a “big deal” back in those days compared with today’s thousands being performed, daily.
Hospital food is the worst. I remember the last baby I had…all were c sections, so no food for a bit, but I begged my dad for peanut butter crackers…not the packaged kind and a banana. 26 years later…one of the best meals ever.
Your story reminds me of this. 2Ti1:16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: 2Ti1:17 But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. It takes a true friend to go to Atlanta from any distance in my book. To go from Murphy is above and beyond. To rustle up some real, honest-to-goodness grub as well …. I don’t have the right word. What do you reckon it is that makes everything else but home cooking unsatisfying sometimes, especially in times of stress?
I notice your Dad’s pensive look, as if his thoughts are far away and he is unaware of the camera. I do that to, probably more than I realize.
Good story. You should do a post showing us pictures of your mom, you and your girls at approximately the same age. Readers would love to see that. Family resemblances are fascinating.
What a good suggestion, Ava!
I would like to see comparison pics of Granny Gazzie, Granny (Louzine), Tipper, and the twins at approximately the same age. I bet that even 4 generations will show very strong resemblances.
Another great post, Tipper. Thank you for sharing it with us. I’m going to call the about the only good friend still with us.
Blessings to all . . .
That story did my heart good. A good friend is a wonderful thing.
The thing about hillbillies is if we like you, there’s nothing we won’t do for you. If we don’t like you, however, there’s nothing we will do for you. I’ve known people from all over this world and I still believe these hills right here have the finest people in the world. This is not open for discussion as far as I am concerned. I will look you straight in the eye and penetrate your soul. Yes, I can tell what your soul is like by looking you in the eyes. Give me 5 minutes to sniff you too. Evil has a bad odor. Sin stinks for sure. Here’s to the hillbilly (as I lift my coffee in morning salute)- there’s NOBODY AS WONDERFUL AND WILD AS YOU!!! Here’s also to anybody who can like Atlanta!
I’d say you look a great deal like your Granny! Great story today, Tipper. Many thanks.
what a lovely story. I grew up with friends like that. unfortunately living here now has separated us by distance but not by phone
Love this story! Friends very often become closer than family and those that stay around for years are the best of the best.
Such a beautiful memory about a wonderful friendship. Computers and cell phones seem to be replacing friends and friendships. And the sad part is, we are letting it happen. I bet those two couples were as close and in some ways closer than relatives are. I have a friend that I met in 1964 and to this day when we see each other it is as though we have been seeing each other weekly…I have not seen her, face to face, in over 10 years. Tipper, maybe one day you and all of your fans, us, can have a reunion ourselves…wouldn’t that be somehitng? God Bless
Glenda-that would be wonderful!
What a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing.
That’s the great thing about growing up and living in a place all your life. you know you can count on your friends to go to bat for you when you’re going through bad times. Like the song by Alabama “Down Home”
Not sure you could find that same kind of dedication between families in these days. such a sweet story.
Sweet memory and story, Tipper. Sadly, kindness is a quality that is in scarce supply these days.