Grandparents make their day

California Elementary holds Grandparents Day every year.
California Elementary holds Grandparents Day every year.

Gary Baker, principal at California Elementary, said he remember everything both his granny and his papa told him to this very day. That's how important grandparents are. And that's one of the reasons the elementary school holds Grandparents Day every year.
He admitted he was kind of sad, said Jose Martinez, 8, and in third grade.
One of his grandpas has already died.
Jose never got to meet him.
His other grandpa and grandma were out of town on the day California Elementary held its annual Grandparents Day.
If his grandparents could have been there, Jose would have talked to them about what they did when they were eight years old? What was school like? What was their favorite subject? What was their least favorite?
He wasn't going to find out that day. Not from his grandparents.
But, thanks to a volunteer grandpa from the local company Cargill, Jose has a substitute "grandpa" so he won't spend Grandparents Day all by himself.
"It's still going to be good," little Jose said, hopefully.
And that's the way it turned out. They seemed to have an instant rapport.
There was just one big difference between Tom, a block supervisor at the local company Cargill, and Jose's own grandpa, Jose said as he cupped his chin with his hand and stroked downwards.
"My grandpa has a big beard," Jose explained.
"He's a good kid," said stand-in grandpa Tom Calliham, laughing about Jose noticing he didn't have a beard.
Eight-year-old third-grader Jackson Barnard had the opposite Grandparents Day experience from Jose. Jackson didn't have one. He didn't have two. He had three grandparents celebrate Grandparents Day with him: grandpa Gerald Taylor, grandpa Roy Barnard, and grandma Becca Barnard.
The group of four had a grand ole time talking about their childhoods and how different -and how alike - the grandparents' schooling was from little Jackson's, as well as what they all had in common.
For example, Jackson and his grandpa Gerald both like hot peppers. And they both like popsicles.
"But not together," Jackson said, giggling.