Monday, November 7, 2022
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Papa was such a card, and one of my favorite people. He taught me so much of what I know and helped me become who I am today. He taught me that no person is better than another, and not to care about what other people may think of you.
Papa—or Hester, as I called him—was quite possibly the most creative and multi-talented person I know. He could build anything. In fourth grade, he helped me build a wooden catapult for a science project. He built me a piano stool, a step stool engraved to “Little Princess,” and constructed much of our house. He could tell a joke like no one else, and was oftentimes unintentionally funny. Papa was everyone’s friend, and always made time for you no matter how many tasks he had to do. If you came over, he’d tell you to “take a load off” and sit down for as long as you want. He would tell me and my sister that “when you go to Papa’s house, you act like the 500-pound gorilla.” In other words, you could do whatever you want.
Sometimes he’d even fix you a fresh catch of shrimp, or the best steak you’ve ever had. Every Thanksgiving, he’d cook a huge turkey for the entire family and save the best parts for us kids while he trimmed the turkey. That’s one thing about him that I’ll miss the most—spending holidays at his house and just seeing him in his element.
Papa was a special part of my every-day life, and I can’t imagine life will ever go back to normal now that’s he’s gone. But I know I’ll see him again one day. As King David said of his baby son who had passed, “He will not come back to me, but one day I will go to him.”
I love you, Papa, and I miss you already.
-“Toot-Toot” (Micaela)
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