W-1894RL-Cigar.DOC

Remember the Time by Don Kump

To write that my Father Rell as a Banker does not convey the dynamic person my cousin Don Kump brings to mind when, his face radiating a mischievous smile, he giggles as he tells “remember the time …..”:

Remember the time Uncle Rell took a car load of us kids from a Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Ray's house in Atwood to a movie in Oberlin? The men wanted to play Pinnacle and us kids wanted to "go to the movie". Exasperated with our pleading, we knew & he knew he'd take us, Rell loaded us in the car and we lit out on the old gravel coated often rutty US36 for Oberlin leaving a trail of dust. We kids were grinning ear to ear to each other not minding in the least the high speed drive. Rell was chomping away at his cigar not wanting to smoke with the car full of us kids - chewing on that cigar seemed to help cope with task at hand. After a spell there was a mouth full of spit to unload - it was habitual, driving those country roads to lean his head back & unload out the window - and he did. Except the window was rolled up! It had been rolled up at the request of us kids in the back - it was windy at that clip. The "chaws worth", with thrust enough to reach the far side of the road, simply became a big splat on the inside of the window. This did nothing sooth his mood - suitable words were blocked by the tightened bite on his cigar and the presence of us kids. He simply leaned his shoulder into the mess and wiped it off on his coat! Oh but he was disgusted with himself. Us kids didn't say a word, as if this was an every get together event.

In later years Don gets to laughing, and it's contagious, as he repaints the image of that trip. Ah but if I could only write it as he can tell it! I can even hear Dad and Uncle Lee laughing, Don is a good story teller, and this is one he enjoyed retelling.