“Be good, behave, be careful, and remember, people will remember you by the way you act.” Donald, or Don Gudeman, always said this to his kids when they were younger. It shows that he knows that kindness does not have a price tag. He was born on March 18th, 1942. Today he is 75 years old, nevertheless, age has not affected his contagious happy-go-lucky attitude. I feel genuinely privileged to call this man my grandpa. I cannot remember ever living life without Grandpa Gudeman. Ever since I was a young infant in my mother’s arms, to now as a 15 year old, Grandpa was always the family “rock”. He supported his family up until he entered into the nursing home because of Alzheimer’s. Starting a farm from scratch is a grueling process that takes long, hard work hours, and a lingering amount of patience; however, Grandpa started his prosperous farm when he was just married. Soon after marriage, the Gudeman family grew until there were 5 …show more content…
extra mouths to feed.
As the children's age increased, so did their visits to their friends’ house. Before the kids would go to their friend’s house, Grandpa would look at them with a steely expression and say, “Be good, behave, be careful, and remember, people will remember you by the way you act.” This was said so often to the kids, that the kids would say it to him before they walked out the door, to which he would reply, “That’s right, and don’t you forget it.” After retirement, Grandpa was healthy and did not want to just sit around all day. About every day, he would drive over to the farm and work on restoring tractors. In the few years he did that, he completely restored around 2
tractors. Life is never always a walk in the park. Back when the Vietnam War started, my grandpa received a letter from the army saying that he was drafted into the army. Luckily, grandpa was a medic for soldiers in the U. S. and never had to cross the ocean to the rapid crossfire. While he was in the army, a pretty, young lady entered his life. Don and Mary Gudeman resided in LaCrosse, IN after he served the rest of his term. Fast forwarding in time, when my grandpa was 67 he started showing signs of a disease no one wants. Alzheimer’s Disease. It started off that he would forget where to find a pen, now 8 years later, he is residing in the nursing home. Grandpa taught everyone that came in contact with him that kindness does not have a price tag. In the simple, everyday deeds that no one really thinks about, such as dishes, laundry, and helping kids with homework, Grandpa was always there to lend a helping hand. Every single day of living on the farm, he would rise before the sun, feed the hogs, and do any other work around the farm. Sunday mornings he would just take care of the hogs, then he would clean up and go to church. At church, he was part of the ministry and would preach to the congregation on Sundays and Wednesday nights. One chilly fall evening, a neighbour, who was also a farmer, had a heart attack. Harvest was in full swing. The fields were full of brown corn or beans; however, this did not stop Grandpa from taking action. He, and a cluster of other farmers in the area, harvested the remaining fields for the farmer that had the heart attack. Throughout the 15 years I have lived life on this earth thus far, Grandpa taught me a numberless amount of lessons. From watching Grandpa, I have learned that kindness does not have a price tag. You do not have to be rich in order to spread kindness like peanut butter on your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You just have to be willing to spread kindness daily.
Growing up with such a strong role model, as Anaya describes him, has altered his personal values over a long period of time. He saw his grandfather and other elders as beautiful and strong, all of them being full of wisdom and stories to share,”The old people I remember from my childhood were strong in their beliefs, and as we lived daily with them we learned a wise path of life to follow.” (Anaya) He believes that old people are willful and strong and should be looked up to. Towards the end of the essay, Anaya brings up how old people are portrayed as smiling and happy in the media, and how they’re also always trying to sell something. He thinks that the media hides the way old people truly are,”Commercials show very lively old men, who must always be in excellent health according to the new myth, selling insurance policies or real estate as they are out golfing; older women selling coffee or toilet paper to those just married.” (Anaya) Anaya’s personal experiences when he was younger, and growing up with his strong grandfather made his personal values into what they are
In recent history, farming in America has changed dramatically, and Naylor’s farm is representative of many in the American Corn Belt. Though it began growing a variety of crops and keeping livestock too, Naylor now only plants corn and soybeans. In Naylor’s grandfather’s days, the farm fed the whole family with just enough left over for twelve others. Now, Naylor indirectly feeds an estimated 129 people, but this does not mean his farm is any more successful. In fact, Naylor’s farm cannot financially support his family.
The book Grandpa and Thomas provides many opportunities for students to make meaning of this text. Text-to-self connections can be made by students remembering times when they have ever gone to the beach, or gone on a special outing with their grandpa. Relating this text back to other Pamela Allan te...
The beginnings in the new world were very tough for the Bergson family. And the situation didn’t seem to get better. They have met several misfortunes that have held their farming business back.
In conclusion, Wu made us remember how important our grandparents no matter how different are we from each other. Also, I learned a lot from my grandparents, and some of things that I learned are that we should treat others with good manners and secondly, we shouldn’t blame others for things that we are uncertain they did it. What I learned from my grandfather made me owe both of my grandparents a lot. And off course one of the things that I and Wu share is that we miss our grandparents a lot and we hope to see them as soon as possible in the
As a child I remember hearing stories about a lost family fortune from my father’s side of the family. I never put a lot of stock into those stories, but evidently they were true. My father’s side was comprised of farmers for many generations. The Owens family owned thousands of acres of land in Kentucky, on which they farmed tobacco and raised horses and cattle. My father, Leland, blames his grandfather’s generation for whittling away the family’s money. Even with the loss of prestige of owning such an abundance of land, the family continued to farm. I suppose it is all they knew. They became good, working class farmers and small business owners, working on their modest-sized farms. But they did own the land which separates them from the working poor. The sizes of the farms dwindled over the generations; my father’s father, Harlan, owned about 30 acres in northern Kentucky. Harlan’s brother Ralph has expanded his wealth over time and now owns about 600 acres of land in Kentucky.
By definition, my grandfather is handicapped. However, he doesn't act as though he is, and he certainly does not want to be treated in any special way.
In conclusion, my grandfather received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. J.B. did teach some high school classes, worked with the soil conservation, helped with 4-H workshops and he also farmed on the side. My grandfather used education as an adjunct to improve a way of life that he was most familiar with. As he got older, new things were introduced in his life. J.B. and Theresa moved to Donaldsonville where she was from and eventually had a total of four children together. Additionally, he created a bright future for his wife, his children, and his grandchildren to come.
On one of my parents’ first dates together, my father described cattle they drove past as “amazing creatures” telling my mother someday he would like to have land and livestock of his own. That wish to transition from the big city to the country led him to buy a house in the middle of nowhere Indiana, soon raising his own amazing livestock. Growing up, I often complained about the amount of work living on a farm entailed, from cleaning pens to taking care of my 4-H animals. But my dad never complained because such duties were his reward for starting an idea from scratch. Following his footsteps in pursuit of a dream of my own, I chose to attend a large university where I studied abroad to contrast and challenge my rural perspective. Through that transition, I began to respect the difficulties my father experienced following his goal. And while the responsibilities he undertakes are stressful and uncertain, I now
Gran, as I frequently called her, stood at five feet seven inches tall. She was an elderly woman in her mid-50s that enjoyed living life and helping others in any way possible, whether it is at the market selling produce, donating to a charity for the less fortunate, or participating in walk-a-thons. On the verge of going into her sixties, her behavior protruded was one of a woman in her early thirties. Dressed in a tight, knee-high khaki pants, a black V-cut top, and a black sandals, with her hand held on her hip saying, “I might be old in age, but I am young and strong at heart darling” as she responded to my comment, in my dialect, “Yuh feel you too young.” This brought much humor to the room. The joyou...
I remember vividly the weekends at his house. Sitting on his lap, going to wrestling matches, walking down the street or through a park--these were things I did with Grandpa. I wasn't just a kid to him: I was his granddaughter, and I was special. He was special too.
They say grandparents, are the two most favorite people in the world to children. Grandparents are the main characters of your childhood, they are the ones that leave you with the most beautiful memories of your life. Some grandparent’s teach you a very valuable lesson of life, they teach you respect, hard work, family values, and unlimited love. They show you their love in many ways, they say I love you in words as well as actions. Grandparents are the ones that sometimes get you out of trouble and guide you to the correct path. They show you trust, a trust that cannot never be broken.
I was assigned to do an autobiography for english class. It took me some time to think of stuff and things that have influenced my life. I thought over my life for a while. So to get things started I 'm going to talk about the most influential man I ever got the privilege to meet, My Grandpa. Ed Hansen
Rocks. The second of five children, an older sister Joan, and three little brothers Terrance, John, and Jerome, all to their parents Robert W. Hileman and Katheryn Conolly Hileman. My grandfathers’ childhood was difficult, because it was part of this depression. When he was a kid his food was rationed, his family was only allowed so much of certain items sugar, meat, butter, and other certain things. When he was twelve years old, he got a job at a deli slicing meat, he did this to help his family out, this demonstrates that even at a young age he was willing to do whatever it took to help out what with he called “the cause”, or his family.
I know that my grandfather would be proud of how I have done my part in helping the society and community. He and I share a similar dream of having a world with less suffering. He taught me to follow and fulfill my dreams. Everything he taught me, I have applied to my life. My grandfather motivated me to change the world and to be the best person I can be.