If I’ve heard him say it once, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it almost every time I saw him over the course of my 23 years. Someone would give him a new gadget or he’d read an interesting story, and you could watch a wondrous smile spread across his face just before he said it. He loved a surprise, but really he just loved living life.
My grandpa was born Oscar Wellington Castle, a true eastern Kentucky mountain man with crazy stories to prove it. A thirst for adventure and desire for a job outside of the coalmines drove him west, bouncing around from Paducah to Madisonville to Elkton and finally landing him in Guthrie, where the world grew to know and love him as “Willie.”
He was every bit as fun loving as his name suggests! Story telling came natural to him, and his ability to make them hilarious was just an added bonus. He loved softball, wrestling, heritage, tools, gadgets, puzzles and food! On more than one occasion during holiday meals, I’ve watched him take his seat at the table, pay no mind to the craziness going on around him as 15+ people try to pass and fill plates, calmly and quietly grab a sweet potato, slice it in half and begin eating it with a spoon until someone got around to filling his plate for him! 🙂
Myself, Pa Willie, and my Dad – Christmas Day 2011
He wasn’t lazy by any means! I’m fairly certain the man has at sometime owned every hand tool ever designed, and there is no doubt in me that he could fix any household appliance set before him. Some folks may remember his “work truck” from years back, complete with a sink faucet mounted to the hood. People would laugh at the original hood ornament, but when they turned the knobs, they were quickly shocked to find that it actually ran water! He’d cackle at the shock and surprise of the gag, and most likely gain a new friend out of the deal.
I could go on and on, but words honestly fail miserably to highlight the life of the man I called Pa Willie. It’s cliché, but he was just one of those people you couldn’t help but like. He never got rich, and it never bothered him. He never flew on an airplane or took a major trip, and he couldn’t have cared less. For years he’s been my constant reminder to appreciate the “simple” in life. Give him a coke, a candy bar, something to keep him busy (gardening, plumbing, crossword puzzles), and add a room full of family and friends to talk to and you had a happy fella.
I got to spend a few hours with Pa a few days before I left on The World Race. He kept going over what countries I would be in and reminding me to BE CAREFUL! I promised I would. 🙂
It’s funny how things people say manage to stick with you forever; Pa’s “catchphrase” will be one I’ll never forget, but there are other things he said – far more important things – that have left a lasting impression on me, like the two times in my life I remember him telling me, “I love you,” or the last time I saw him, two days before leaving on The World Race, when I walked in his living room and he hollered out, “ABC!” 🙂 Most importantly, a month or so ago, when doctors explained to him that his stomach cancer diagnosis was terminal, he didn’t use his catchphrase. He didn’t get mad. He didn’t cry or worry. He simply said, “Well, I’ll get to see Jesus!”
That’s how I want to live my life – knowing that every, single day is a great privilege. Assured that life is worth smiling and laughing about. Trusting that simple really is better and that if you’re surrounded by family, you truly are rich. And knowing that whenever my Earthly time comes to a close, it’s worth celebrating and looking forward to the fact that as a Christian, I am promised to see Jesus face-to-face!
I love you, Pa Willie, and I’ll see you someday soon.
-ABC
