~~GRANDPA'S KEYS~~
When I was a young boy about ten years
old I used to visit my Grandpa and
Grandma.
I did not realize at the time but my grandparents were baby
sitting
me
while my parents had things to do and I might get in the way. I
sure
didn't
care if I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa because the day was
always
filled
with happy times.
Grandma would fix my favorite dinner along with my favorite deserts.
Grandpa would sit and tell stories about when he was young.
He told me stories about Rover his pet
dog. He would tell me stories about
when
he was in the army. He talked about the good times, his dreams,
his
friendships
and the things he liked most. He made up stories that stirred my
very
soul.
I would close my eyes and sail the pirate
ships. I would fight the fire
breathing
dragons. I would travel the stars in space ships and experience
adventures
under the sea.
Most of all I remember what looked like a
hundred keys that Grandpa had
hanging
on a nail at the back door. Grandpa had fashioned a piece of wire
into
a large loop with a clever hook that held the loop together much
like a
safety
pin. All the keys were hanging from this wire loop.
Grandpa would put a towel on the kitchen
table and I would take all the keys
off
the wire and line them up on the towel. Grandpa would caution me
not to
lose
any of his keys.
I would organize all the keys into groups
of similar looking keys and keys of
the
same color. He had some long black keys that looked like a nail
with a
round
end and long black teeth on the other end.
He would pick up each key and gently rub
it between his finger and thumb and
explain
about each key.
"This one is for the front door of
the house. This is the one to the house
where
your mom and dad lived before you were born.
"This is the key to my mothers house,
your great grandmother, before it
burned
down 25 years ago."
"This is my skeleton key" he
would say with a smile. I loved my grandpa very
much,
but I was not about to ask any questions about his skeleton key.
Grandpa also had some brass keys which he
studied with his keen eyes. "This
is
the key to my old Ford that wore out many years ago. "
This is the key to the Oldsmobile that I
drive now, and this the key to the
trunk
of my car. This is the key to the car that Grandma used to drive,
and
this
is the key to the garage." Grandpa never does lock the
garage though.
Grandpa lovingly studied more keys.
"This is the key to the storage shed.
Sometime
on Sunday I go over to the church to start the furnace, so this
is
the
key to the church."
Then grandpa picked up a strange looking
key and smiled. "This is a skate
key.
This is the key to my bicycle lock." Grandpa had not had a
bicycle in
over
30 years and who knows when he used to skate.
Then Grandpa picked up the strangest
looking key I had ever seen. "This is
not
a key at all." he laughed, "It is a wrench for
tightening up my bicycle
spokes."
"This is the key to the office
building where I used to work, this is the key
to
the front door of the office, and this little key fits the file
cabinet
there."
Grandpa retired 15 years ago.
Grandpa then picked up about 20 keys from
the table and explained "These keys
are
LFL keys." Then he smiled and explained LFL meant long
forgotten locks.
Grandpa also had another ring of keys
that were hung very high on the back
door
frame. These keys were much larger, the ring was gold in color
and the
ring
was welded so it could not be opened to remove keys. Grandpa
explained
that
these keys were hung on the highest point on the door because
they were
the
most important keys of all and are not to be played with because
they
were
so valuable. He said when I got older he was going to give me
those
special
keys.
Each key was about 5 inches long and had
words printed on them. Grandpa told
me
that the special keys were the keys to everything important.
These are the
keys
of life and the keys to Heaven. The wording on key keys must be
studied,
lived
and its message imprinted in your brain and branded into your
soul.
Grandpa lived up to his promise. On my
eighteenth birthday I went to visit
Grandma
and Grandpa. He tenderly handed the keys to me. When I studied
the
keys
I realized what my Grandpa meant when he spoke of the keys.
The first key was gold in color and the
most important of all the keys. On
one
side it said "LOVE". On the other side it said "Love
of God, fellow man,
friends,
family and children, Love of country, Love of God's creations and
Love
of God's unfortunate souls".
The second key and all of the other keys
were silver. On one side it said
"FORGIVE"
. On the other side it said "Forgive your enemy, forgive
those who
do
you harm, forgive those who say and do unkind things to you or
about you".
The third key said "PATIENCE" .
On the reverse side it said "Patience of
people,
traffic, long lines, those who fail to show patience and patience
toward
children, old people and the handicapped.
The fourth key said "UNDERSTANDING"
. Try to see the other side of the issue"
The fifth key said "HAPPINESS".
Be happy even in adversity. Remember every
cloud
has a silver lining and as the cloud passes the sun will shine
again.
The sixth key said "THANKFUL".
Be thankful for all you have and do not be
saddened
by the things you do not have.
The seventh key said "INDUSTRIOUS".
Remember if a job is worth doing, it is
worth
doing right, and a honest days work for an honest days pay".
The eighth key said "CLEANLINESS".
Keep your body and your mind clean.
Cleanliness
is next to Godliness".
The ninth key said "HONESTY".
Be truthful at all times and remember some of
the
worst lies are shrouded in silence".
The tenth key said "EDUCATION".
Learn to be all you can be. Do not let your
mind
go to waste".
Now, I'm the grandpa and although I do
not have as many keys as my Grandpa
had
in his collection. The most important keys are hung on the
highest point
of
my back door. When my first grandchild reaches her eighteenth
birthday I
will
tell her about my Grandpas key and how she and her family should
live by
the
keys message. I will ask her to pass them to her oldest
grandchild.
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