Dear Cookie & Papa

Dear Cookie and Papa,

Of course your real names are Erma and Harry and you are my grandparents, but when all of your grandchildren were babies that’s what we heard you call each other. It’s been awhile since you both have been gone, but I am still grateful for the 25 years that I had you both in my life.

I’m proud to say that I can’t remember when my appreciation for both of you being in my life began because as far back as I can remember you both were always there. All my life you both lived on the other side of the country. Me, mama, Rudy and Kindal all lived down south in North Carolina and you guys lived in California with the rest of our family out that way. Even though you lived so far away you both stayed in touch with us so much that it was as if you lived right down the street from us.

Your every phone call was a spirit lifter. Whenever you guys called us the day took on a new kind of bright. Your words brought us joy, made us laugh and always gave us a good time to look forward to. Those good times came in the form of visits. Whether you guys came to visit us in North Carolina or met up with us in places where our family reunions were being hosted like Tennessee and Alabama, or even better, when we came to visit you for the summers and holidays in California, there was never a dull moment with Cookie and Papa.

Visits with Cookie and Papa weren’t just timed well spent. Y’all shaped my life and created the best memories with your every visit. When you would come to North Carolina and see us we would eat at Golden Corral because y’all couldn’t get enough of that buffet. I was annoyed with it at first, but later on I just learned to accept it as a custom of your visits. It was always fun showing you both a great time when you came to town. Y’all were just so vibrant with a joy for life that I have never witnessed, but I have to say the times were even greater when we came to see y’all out west.

Every visit to see you two along with the rest of our family in California had a life shaping impact. There was nothing like being picked up by you from Oakland airport and riding through the Bay Area of Northern California listening to George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m a big fan of P-funk thanks to grandpa Harry. Every time I turn on some George Clinton I feel like I’m seven years old again riding through the West Coast.

You both always made sure we had the best of times with our family at our family reunions and get togethers. I understood the importance of family time well spent because of my grandparents. Y’all were also big on us enjoying movies and were the reason why being big movie buffs was in our family blood streams. We were never short of good movies thanks to Cookie and Papa.

To this day I have never known a Will stronger than Cookie and Papa’s. When your youngest daughter (my mother) died an untimely death you both held it together and stayed strong in a way that I could’ve never imagined. It’s hard losing a source of strength and that is what I felt like I lost when you both passed away in 2012 and 2018. Though you are gone in the flesh, the spirit you planted in me lives on in how I live my life.

Dear Cookie and Papa. You were both great parents and grandparents. You were both veterans of the US Army who served to make the world a better place for me and you taught me the importance of loving your family. This Thanksgiving I am forever grateful for my grandparents, Cookie and Papa.

~Dedicated to Erma & Harry Spencer aka Cookie and Papa.