Little Brown Baby

My Granddad, who the little kids call Pop-Pop, is 96 years old. Have I mentioned this before? It's a little amazing, typing it out that way. 96-years-old. That's 4 years away from being 100. Craaaazy!
And a blessing.

Granddad is pretty stationary, as the result of some kind of stroke-like thing that happened many many years ago. But other than being unsteady on his feet, he is the picture of health. He has no chronic diseases, lives independently, eats like a horse (and whatever he wants, whenever he wants) and most importantly, has all his faculties.

In fact, my Granddad simply amazes us with his quick wit and his ability to pull random bits of information and history from his brain at the drop of a hat.

Here's just one example:

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we went to his house to visit. We sat upstairs with him in his TV room (which is the room my Dad and Uncle Harrison shared as babies/children) and chatted about politics and current events. Cary and Dean were tired and hungry, so they were being especially clingy to Lester, and not interacting much with Pop-Pop.

To get their attention, Granddad turns to Cary, leans in close to his face, and recites a poem:

LITTLE brown baby wif spa'klin' eyes,

          Come to yo' pappy an' set on his knee.

What you been doin', suh -- makin' san' pies?

          Look at dat bib -- you's ez du'ty ez me.

Look at dat mouf -- dat's merlasses, I bet;

          Come hyeah, Maria, an' wipe off his han's.

Bees gwine to ketch you an' eat you up yit,

          Bein' so sticky an sweet -- goodness lan's!

He missed a few words, and I never heard him say "Maria," but for the most part, he nailed it. And then he leans back in his chair and says, "Paul Laurence Dunbar."

Wouldn't you know it is a Paul Laurence Dunbar poem, called "Little Brown Baby." Seriously, where'd he pull that from? I can barely recite my name and address if caught off guard. How does his brain retain and retrieve that kind of thing?

I'll never know -- but I hope to be half as sharp as he is when I'm pushing 100.

And I know my boys won't remember this day or that recitation, but I LOVE it that I can record the moment here, so they will forever know their Pop-Pop was a font of information and culture, and wanted to share it all with them, his great grandsons, little brown babies of mine.

Fun fact: This little brown baby is sitting on the very bed her Granddad slept on as a child. Isn't that cool?