Pappy Is Far More Than Just A Name

It Was In The Early Years Of The 1970's When Pappy's Gas Station Pumped Their Last Gallon Of Gasoline. Located On The Northwest Corner Of Vermilion At Woobury In Danville Illinois. This Filling Station Was Owned And Operated For Forty Years By The Henry Brothers. Forrest (Pappy) And Willy Henry Had No Idea The Impact They Left On Children For Generations To Come.
Whenever A Conversation About The Old Neighborhood Takes Place It's a Sure Bet Pappy's Is Always Brought Up.
I Have Many Acquaintances From The Old Square On The West Side Of Danville. Some I Never Know Their Name While Others I Know By Nickname Or First Name.
I've Only Known Her As Becky For A Number Of Years. She Is A Florist Here In Town.
Have You Ever Heard The Expression What A Small World This Is?
Becky Overheard A Name While Visiting And Asked Me About It. I Told Her She Heard Correctly. She Had No Idea The Can Of Worms She Had Just Opened. Just By That Small Amount Of Information It Revealed To Me Who She Really Was!
I looked At Becky And Said, Pappy Was Your Grandpa! She Said No Pappy Was My Pappy!
In Just The Short Time We Shared At That Moment Seemed Like Time Had Been Frozen In Time. She Shared With Me The Side Of Pappy I Never Knew. I Knew Pappy From The Filling Station While She Knew Him From The Family Side Of Things. Pappy Was A Very Respected Person. I Could Remember Him Standing There Talking To This Nicely Dressed Gentleman. I Really Never Understood All The Things They Were Discussing Because It Was All Grown Up Talk And I Was Just A Snot Nosed Kid At The Time. One Day As I Sat There Sucking The Last Drop Of RC Cola Out Of My Pop Bottle He Turned And Looked At Me And Said That Man That Just Left Will Be Somebody Someday. I Didn't Quite Understand It Then But Today I Do. That Man Was Representative Bill Black From Danville. Black Just Announced He Would Be Retiring After His Term Has Expired. He Has Spent Umpteen Years In The Illinois House Of Representatives. He Had Taught At Danville High School As Well AS Danville Junior College.
That's One Of The Things About Pappy I Remember. He Told You Like It Was Whether You Wanted To Hear It Or Not. Becky Told Me She Had Never Known Him To Raise His Voice At Anyone In Anger. She Did Remember Him Flipping His Finger On Her Ear Whenever She Got Out Of Line.
All Of Pappy's Children Had Muscular Distrophy. Her Mother Died When She Was In Her 30's. I Can Remember That Period Of Time Because Pappy's Gas Station Was Closed The Day Of The Funeral. Pappy's Gas Station Was Open 7 Days A Week. They Gave Me The Desk And Chair That So Many People Sat In Over The Years.
Today All Of My Grandchildren Know Me Only As Pappy. The Name Is A Friendly Reminder That A Name Is Not Just A Name. The History Of It Can Be Reminisced For Years To Come.

Just Call Me Mac.......