D: 28 Oct 1987
August 7, would have been my great-grandfather Pierre Savoie's 128th birthday.
He was born in 1898 in Creole, Louisiana, the second of ten children born to Camille and Ortense Boudreaux Savoie.
I remember being in my early teens when it suddenly hit me that I actually knew someone who was born in the 1800s. Back then, that seemed almost impossible to wrap my mind around, and I thought it was pretty amazing. Even today, I find it crazy that I've known someone from the last 3 centuries.... 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s.
Grandpa Pierre's first language was Cajun French. He barely spoke English his entire life, and if I remember Granny's stories correctly, I believe he only went to school through the second grade. Somewhere along his life's journey, he lost an eye and wore a prosthetic glass eye for the rest of his life. His remaining eye slowly failed him too, and by the end of his life he was nearly blind.
Pierre lived until my 15th birthday, and I'm grateful I had those years with him.
After school, I'd often stop by his little house just to sit and drink coffee with him and Grandma Cooney. Looking back, I think that's probably where my lifelong love of coffee began.
One thing I'll never forget was Grandpa Pierre's hair. He was bald, but he always had one or two long, scraggly strands standing straight up. I'd sneak into the house as quietly as I could, ease up behind his chair, and give one of those hairs a little tug. Without even turning around, I'd hear him softly say my name.
Even now, nearly 40 years later, I can still hear his old Cajun voice...
"Wil-leee."
Funny how time passes, but some voices never leave you.
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