My Grandpa, the Pirate

This is my grandpa, T.L. Smith. 

As my only living grandparent, I decided to dedicate a blog post to him.  He is more affectionately known as Pap-pa.  He was born in 1935 and was supposed to be called Tony Linvel but the doctor who delivered him was drunk and only managed to write T.L. on the birth certificate.  

As you can see, he wears an eye patch.  Many years ago (before my days began) he worked in a mine.  One day the mine caved in on top of him and he was extricated and taken to a nearby hospital.  The doctors didn’t think he would make it so they left him alone.  One day he told them that he wasn’t planning on dying so they should start working on him.  The mining accident left him with a broken and disfigured eye.  He has worn an eye patch as long as I can remember.  

One day he was at my house for a birthday party.  A little girl was there and saw my grandpa.  She leaned over to my oldest niece and whispered to her that there was a pirate in the room.  Many people who have disfigurements are embarrassed but not my grandpa.  He laughs about it and tries to make people enjoy his pirate-esque eye patch. 

He has always been a fun loving person.  See the picture below of how he showed up to my nephew’s recent birthday party.  My grandpa is always up for a good laugh.  He married my grandmother in 1955.  She was 15 years old when they married which always makes me cringe a bit.  They somehow stuck through the young love, hard times and were married for 54 years before her death in 2009.  Almost every time I see him, he tells me, tears in his eyes, "I miss that gal, sure do, she was a good ‘un."  He has not been the same since her death and has lost a bit of his fun loving spirit.  He also loves Jesus.  He can't discuss his gratefulness for the sacrifice Jesus made for someone as filthy as him without getting choked up about that level of extravagant grace.    

He holds the nickname Blossom.  One of his friends or coworkers asked him one day if his name was Blossom.  My grandpa said no and asked why.  The man said to him, “Because you are a blooming idiot.”  The nickname stuck.  

My grandpa likes nicknames.  My brother was the first official grandchild.  My grandpa tells that on the day my brother was born he was only a few minutes old but he was bright-eyed and looking all around seeing how he might improve the place like he was the boss.  My grandpa immediately nicknamed him Boss and from that point on, my brother had no other name.  

This began a pattern for my grandpa.  Each new grandchild was given a nickname on the day of their birth.  I was nicknamed Peanut because my head was as tiny as a peanut when I was born.  I have rarely heard him use my actual name and when he does it takes a minute to register.  Other grandkids filtered in from new marriages and were eventually given names as well.  I will share those nicknames and the stories behind them as best as my memory allows.  

Siblings

Boss - my brother, aka Chris - So named because he looked like a boss on the day of his birth.

Tylenol and/or Headache Pill - his wife, aka Tilinia - So named because the first syllable of her name sounds like ‘Ty’ in Tylenol.

Twinkie - my niece, aka Kyla

Cookie - my niece, aka Aly

Skipper - my nephew, aka Zeke

Peanut and/or Nut - me - So named because of my tiny head.

Cricket - my sister, aka Caley - So named because her cry reminded him of a bunch of crickets.

Cowboy - her husband, aka Josh - So named because on one of the first times my grandpa saw him he was wearing brown pants.  My grandpa associated the brown pants with a cowboy, no matter Cowboy was also wearing a black leather jacket.  

Cousins  

Misty Moonlight  

Knot Head - So named because he had a knot on his head when he was born.

Swinger - Knot Head’s Son

Chatter Box - Knot Head’s girlfriend's son - So named because the first time he sat with my grandpa he talked non-stop.

Drive Shaft and/or Double Trouble - So named because the drive shaft fell out of his car on the way to see her at the hospital.  She later became ‘Double Trouble’ because he said she was double trouble.

Whistle Britches - Double Trouble’s son - So named because he passed gas one time as a baby.

June Bug - Double Trouble’s daughter 

Trooper - Double Trouble’s other daughter - So named because of being a trooper while in the hospital for severe burns.

Rooster - So named because a certain body part was red when he was born.

Trotter - So named because he was always trotting along behind his brother Rooster.

Sticker - So named because Holly bushes have stickers on them and her name was Hollie.

Jeroboam - So named because it sounds like his actual name, Jeremy.

C-Note - So named because he heard the C-note can shatter glass and apparently her cries were so loud he thought they could also shatter glass.

Stormy - C-Note’s daughter - So named because her actual name, Abigale, has the word ‘gale’ in it and she had a stormy entry into this life.  

Blue Jay - So named because he looked blue from a lack of oxygen after his birth.

Jake 

Teardropper - Jake’s daughter - So named because when he first saw her she had a single teardrop on her cheek.

Two Shoes - Jake’s son - So named because he had new shoes and was just learning to talk and could only say ‘shoes’.  There was also a new song my grandpa heard called ‘Two Shoes’.

Smiley - Teardrop’s son - So named because he just smiled at my grandpa one of the first times he was around him.

Cyndi Kook 

Did It - Cyndi Kook’s daughter - So named after katydids because her actual name is Caiti.

Tara of the South - Named partly after the ‘Gone with the Wind’ homestead and the fact that as a young child she was beautiful but also a terror.

Family members, feel free to chime in with more correct and current information.  I will update facts or names that I may have incorrect.