My life with Lemonds

When I was 8, I lost the love of my life.  My grandpa, Jessie Barker, was such a happy man with an infectious, gap-toothed smile.  He was the colors of summer and the sound of pure joy.  I never remember him with a frown.  He worked hard, but could light up a room before he ever even walked in.  He was the most important person and man in my life.  At my grandpa's visitation, I was inconsolable.  

                   Grandpa and I

My grandpa's right hand man on the farm was in 20's, but had been around the family for years.  My parents asked him to take me home so I could grieve there.  We left and from that moment on he began filling the hole that had just been left in my heart.  From this death, came a very unique friendship. 

Every time I came to town, I was inseparable from him.  He never told me I couldn't go, that I was too small, too young to help or that I was in the way.  He included me in everything he did.  He let me feed the cows and calves even though they were way bigger than me, drive the tractors and trucks, fix barbed wire fences and even try to toss hay when I couldn't even begin to budge them.  He let me try though.  He never tried to shrug me off when his buddies came around.  He took me to the store to eat with the older guys in town, just like my grandpa did.  I always felt so special he let me hang around.  Many people don't know our story, but it was such a defining event for me and I will be forever grateful to him for filling as much of that void as he could.  He may not even know what he did for me as I have never told him.  I was small, but he made me feel important, strong and like I could do anything.  Jerry Lemonds, you are a jewel of a man!  You've had such an impact on not only me, but others as well including my own kids.  We love you!

                    Jerry Lemonds