Grandpa Nat

Submitted by HostGFSAcadian@aol.com

 

The little girl, plaits flying behind her ran up the steps and climbed up to the lap of the old man sitting on the porch. He was her protector, her lifeline from the teasing by the other cousins. Just because she was not Catholic, she was the target of the others who were. 

Grandpa Nat loved his little "pigtaw", the skinny little kid who turned nut brown in the summer sun and wasn't afraid of most things. She was his little "Choctaw" who loved him more than the others. She was special in his heart because she did not recoil in horror at the sight of his rolled up pants leg and the wooden leg propped up against the wall of the porch. She would hand him the leg or his crutches, her big brown eyes turned adoringly toward him. She was his little Cajun, born on the anniversary of his wedding to his beloved Nettie. He only wished that Nettie had lived to love this one. Alas, Nettie had gone to Heaven before this little one was born so he always gave her a second hug, one from himself and one from her Grandma. 

I am that little girl and I have found most of my Acadian Roots. Missing are the links for my Grandma Nettie. He told me all about her when I would climb into his lap. The only problem was he told me in French and I could not understand a word he said! Later, when I asked my father about his mother, he would say she still had people "up the bayou." That was as bad as being told in French! Which Bayou? Which direction? One day I will find her CLEMENT and CROCHET lines and then my Acadian Genealogy will be complete.

Happy Father's Day, Grandpa Nat! Take my hand and we will paddle this pirogue up the bayou!

Rose
Host GFS Acadian

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