My family has a song.
A theme song if you will. That causes us to breakout in random chorus at any given moment. All we need is a single, deep, baritone voice to say, "Oooohhhhh" and we're off.
Ours is "The Lumberjack song" and it goes something like this:
Oooohhhhh {hold for as long as it takes to get everyone to start singing with you} the lumberjack he cuts the pine
Too-ra-too-ra-fa-dal-dink-a-di-do
Oh the lumberjack he cuts the pine
Tree.
Oh the lumberjack he cuts the pine
The lumber's his but the jack is mine.
Lily-i-lily-i-lily-i-oh
lily-i-lily-i-lily-oh.
Oh the mining man he digs for gold
Too-ra-too-ra-fa-dal-dink-a-di-do
Oh the mining man he digs for gold
Dig.
Oh the mining man he digs for gold
But the money ends up in my billfold
Lily-i-lily-i-lily-i-oh
lily-i-lily-i-lily-oh.
Oh the marrin' man he marries soon
Too-ra-too-ra-fa-dal-dink-a-di-do
Oh the marrin' man he marries soon
Fudd.
Oh the marrin' man he marries soon
The groom comes home for his honeymoon.
Lily-i-lily-i-lily-i-oh
lily-i-lily-i-lily-oh.
I hope I remembered all the verses right. We only ever really knew the first verse anyway. You get the idea though. A quarky, funny, makes no sense but makes you smile and laugh kind of tune.
My Grandpa always sang it. And we always requested it of him at any gathering. I made my Dad promise that someone would break out in song at my Grandpa's funeral. We almost did during my Aunt Denise's talk but she chided us to keep quiet. But at the internment, well, that was a different story.
I love my Aunt Denise's face! We're still singing the first "ooooohhhhh" together.
Cole was not amused.
Someday
when I get the recording of everyone's talks, I'll post them. I loved
hearing all the stories and funny antics about my Grandpa. Remembering
so many things... fishing, camping, "Hey kids.... have fun!" with a
sharp jab to the ribs from my Grandma as she let him know to be quiet
and let us stay up late laughing and playing games, teaching my Dad how
to build and fix things {like a 1940 Ford pickup truck he got for
Christmas}, Nabisco, his antics and jokes, cheating at games and cards just to spice things up, singing around the player piano, ow he quietly went about his life serving others {Awesome story... my Dad's two best friends growing up had both lost their Dads at a young age. While my Grandpa was teaching my Dad how to build model rockets, fix cars, build pinewood derby cars, help with Scouting projects, fish, camp, and work in the shop, he was also teaching them. When my Dad graduated high school, his best friend told him "Thanks." My Dad asked him for what and his response was, "For sharing your Dad with me."}. And of course his mission story.
You can't talk about my Grandpa without the mission story.
My Grandpa moved to a little town, Orangeville, Utah, when he was a teenageer. He met and fell in love with my Grandma and wanted to marry her. But my Grandma Peacock (my Grandma's mother) wanted him to go on a mission first. Or join the Army. I think anything to delay getting married so young.
It didn't work out that way.
My Grandparents weren't active... my Grandpa smoked, he cursed, he drank coffee. But my Grandpa lived his life loving and serving and accepting others for who they were just like Christ did. I remember as a little girl, my mom telling me, "There's a smoking section in Heaven just for Grandpa."
In the final days of my Grandma Peacock's life, somehow the conversation of not going on a mission when he was young got brought up again. Well, my Grandma Peacock got the better of him when she told him, "then what's stopping you go now?" I remember my Grandpa was really upset with her for saying this, telling us, "for 50 years she's never once butted in and now this! I can't go on a mission!" And he meant it.
The day my grandparents got home from my Grandma Peacock's funeral, their Bishop and lifelong friend came over and asked if they'd serve a mission in Nauvoo, IL. Apparently Grandma Peacock got the best of Grandpa on the other side! The Stake President had been told they needed someone to go to Nauvoo to do carpentry work for the temple. My Grandpa's neighbor, who also happened to be in his ward's bishopric at the time, told the Bishop "I've got Don Jewkes to church every day of the week except Sunday. And that's your job." {My Grandpa worked for the church after he retired repairing churh meeting houses and the Institute buildings so he really was at church every day but Sunday.} It was a very special time for my church, restoring the Nauvoo temple.
I can still remember the day my Grandma told us what was going on. It was "Thursday lunch" day when me and my Dad would go over from campus and eat lunch with Grandma and Grandpa - the day after their Bishop had come over to ask them a question that would change their lives. We were the only ones who knew. She wasn't frantic or giddy but just super shocked and I never remember her talking so much or so fast about anything. When we asked her if they were going to go, she just said, "I don't know. I just don't know." It was going to take quite the lifestyle change to go. Grandma swore my Dad and I to secrecy, even from my Grandpa, because he was still kind of in shock and didn't want anyone to know. So we kept our secret for a few weeks until my Grandpa slowly warmed up to the idea of serving a mission. It must have been so hard for them to walk into church that first Sunday after 60+ years of inactivity. And my Grandpa wasn't about to "pray about it 'cause I'm afraid of the answer."
But he did.
And when he got his answer, the first thing he did was run down to "coffee" at Angie's to tell his coffee buddies that he was going on a mission! He was so excited. And then remembered that he had to run home to tell Grandma. My mom remembers coming up for "Thursday lunch" the day my Grandpa got his answer. He was teasing her and told her, "I got a new church job" then asking her to guess what it might be. Well, my Mom guessed it and when she blurted out, "You're going on a mission to Nauvoo!" my Grandpa was shocked. He was kind of mad and asked her who had told her. Nobody did. My mom just knew and told him, "Because they need the best."
There are details missing to the story but it's one that forever changed our family. I will never forget driving out to see my Grandparents in Nauvoo with my girlfriends and then again with my family for the temple open house. We went to dinner with my Grandparents {and Grandma Great who happened to come to Nauvoo to see her "missionary" at the same time I was there} and I will forever treasure the sight of walking down the street and seeing my missionary Grandpa waiting for me. He was beaming with light and had the biggest, happiest, most genuine smile I've ever seen. I could feel the Spirit just bursting out of him. It's a sacred experience that I hold near to my heart.
My Grandpa and Grandma were amazing. I miss them so much.
