grampa and short pants

The other day at the 80th birthday party for grampa ( By the way thank you everybody for coming ) a conversation started about grampa and short pants. Stacey who knew the correct story asked Megan and Melissa if they knew why grampa didn't ever wear short pants, in unison they answered because grampa had been bitten by a rattlesnake and had some scars on his leg. Grandma was in the group having the conversation heard the answer and started laughing with Stacey

We are not sure how the story started but Megan & Melissa were convinced they had been told the story about the rattlesnake. I think if Melissa would have asked that question in her game at the party, I think most of my family would have answered the same way. Megan thinks that grampa told her that story sometime in her life, maybe it was early morning dounuts that Megan and Grampa always seemed to enjoy when they had the chance to go. I will have to ask Megan to Blog about that memory.

Here is the true story for you who do not know ( the information came from Grandma ). When Grampa was 8 years old he was out at the Parker farm riding sheep, I am guessing it was rodeo style. He got bucked off and got a deep bruise in his leg. Shortly after that he got chicken pox. and the bone in the leg became infected. There was a miracle doctor in Soda Springs named Dr.Cackle, ( I am guessin at the spelling ) he started to treat grampa for the infection. Then they started to take grampa to Boise to a specialist and I think it was there that they wanted to amputate grampa's leg, but his dad, my grampa said no.

I would have to imagine in those days it was a struggle to find the medical attention you needed. and to go see a doctor in Soda Springs and Boise from Rupert. I am thankful it all turned out in the end

Now to make this story come full circle.

I had Mom and Dad bring me Grampa's slides. I set up in the basement with a screen hanging from the ceiling and the slide projector on a table and my digital camera mounted on a tripod. I have gone through all the slides and have moved about 400 of the 1300 slides to my computer. I found Grampa in short pants in a couple of pictures here is the one I like best. It is at the Piling hole fishing hole with lower Stanley in the forground. I am thinking that Grampa saw some salmon rolling in the hole and he just happened to have his fishing pole, short pants and white canvas tennis shoes handy. I can see him wading out to casting distance from the hole and picking up nice trout and the Salmon. But as you can see David & Sherri were there and if they can remember a different story of the fishing expereince that day you are welcome to post it.