Madeline has 2 of 3 Grandpas (“Bampaws” in Madeline-ese) who own tractors. Bampaw Bernie in Nebraska drives John Deere while Bampaw Mike in College Station prefers Kubota. Bampaw Ralph in Austin also briefly owned a small International Harvester but had to sell it after he received a terse letter from the Avery Ranch neighborhood association strongly disagreeing with his definition of appropriate cultivation techniques on 1/3 acre.

Madeline & Mommy getting ready to help feed cows

Madeline now associates all tractors and all cows with Bampaw. We were recently talking a walk through the park in our neighborhood. The massive rains had washed out some of the running trails and the neighborhood association had contracted with a gentleman to spread new crushed granite on the trails. When we entered the clearing of the park, Maddie saw the gentleman’s tractor, which was several hundred yards away, immediately yelled “Bampaw!”, and started running. Understand that this tractor was blue (not green or orange) and much smaller than any of the tractors Madeline has seen before. We explained that it wasn’t Grandpa’s tractor and that it wasn’t Grandpa, but she was having nothing of it. Upon reaching the tractor, Madeline’s yells had reached a fever pitch of “BAMPAW BAMPAW BAMPAW.” Upon realization that it wasn’t grandpa, the look of confusion on her face was like that of New York’s Mayor when Pete Venkman told him that he should accept the fact that his city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.

Mayor: What do you mean, “biblical”?
Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff!
Venkman: Exactly.
Stanz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!
Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes!
Winston Zeddmore: The dead rising from the grave!
Venkman: Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!

The gentleman on the tractor was very nice and very sorry that Madeline was so upset that he wasn’t Bampaw. He said “I am a grandpa, if that helps!”. It did not.

Riding in “Bampa’s Truck” (golf cart) on a cold morning helping to feed cows.

“Bampa’s Truck”

We were told there would be cake.

Madeline with mommy helping Grandpa feed cows

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