Apples & Apples

I love Granny Smith apples. Though, I don't really have a Granny Smith. They should really be called PaPa Shirley apples. PaPa and Grandma Shirley (last name, of course... first names = James & Ruth) used to have Granny Smith apple trees and a pear tree in their backyard along with their vegetable garden. That's the whole reason I even like apples now. Every time I smell a PaPa Shirley apple, it takes me back to when I was a kid. I would go to their house and PaPa would let me pick as many apples as I wanted. I even picked the ones that fell from the branches too early and ate them (that's back when you could actually do that... despite the occasional worm - eww - LOL).

Of course, that's the whole reason I DON'T like okra. Slimy vegetables are not my friend.

Wow, I miss PaPa. He had alzheimer's in his later years, and he barely knew us before he died. In fact, he was introducing Grandma as his sister by the end. That really broke her heart. We could all tell that he probably didn't know us, but didn't want to let on that he was having a hard time with it.

It's funny what we remember about people.