The gravel crunched under the tires of the car as we pulled into the cemetery. As we passed under a wrought iron arch, I began to feel a little nervous; I’ve never liked cemeteries. It’s that whole dead people thing, they kinda scare me. We were here to see my father’s father, who I never had much interaction with, as he died when I was maybe 3 or 4 years old. However, I knew he loved his grandchildren and was a good man from all the many, many stories I had heard about him. I almost felt like I knew him. As the car came to a stop, I realized something. “We didn’t bring anything for Grandpa,” I cried. We hadn’t stopped to find some flowers or candles or anything to leave on his grave. What kind of granddaughter was I? The least I could do was bring some flowers. We had driven all the way to Canada from California, but had forgotten to bring something for his grave.
Interrupting my internal panicking, my dad got out of the car quietly. I watched him walk over to a headstone that I assumed was Grandpa’s. I didn’t want to get out of the car without something for my grandfather. Glancing into the back seat, a red glimmer caught my eye. Of course. I reached back there and pulled out a shiny, red can of Dr. Pepper. How could I forget? Grandpa loved Dr. Pepper. Triumphantly, I got out of the car to offer this gift to my grandpa. It seemed like it was because of him that the rest of the family loved this drink.
I proceeded to leave this holy offering on my grandpa’s headstone. My dad, who had started wandering about came back over to see what I had put on the stone. He chuckled, “Grandma would have a cow if she saw that Dr. Pepper here.” “Well it’s a good thing she’s not here right now,” I retorted. He chuckled again and went on looking at the other head stones.
Later, I asked my dad why Grandpa liked Dr. Pepper. The look in his eyes was nostalgic as he began the story. Grandpa had been in the mission presidency over a ton of Mormon missionaries in Alberta, Canada. Apparently this kept him very busy in addition to having to work to support his family. He was gone three weekends a month fulfilling his responsibilities with the missionaries. On these weekends, the whole presidency would drive very long distances to go speak to groups of missionaries. A man in the presidency by the name of Orville Methany is the man who introduced Grandpa to Dr. Pepper. It seemed like Dr. Pepper was perfect for these long road trips. The caffeine could keep the driver awake and cure headaches. My grandfather soon took a liking to Dr. Pepper and even drank it at home. When his wife found out that Dr. Pepper was caffeinated, she would not have such things in her house. She put an end to his drinking days. However, I suspect he still drank it, just not around her.
