My Grandpa And The Haint by Ernest J. Gaines

“You've got to bend with the wind or you're broken.”
― Ernest J. Gaines, Conversations with Ernest Gaines 
I am loving this short story. Before reading the first words I had fallen in love with it. Because I love Ernest J. Gaines as an author. I first met him through the Oprah Winfrey Show. The book club choice was A Lesson Before Dying. Just writing this title leaves me wanting to read the novel again. I've read it more than once. It's that thought provoking.

Now, this short story is really good too. Its sent me back to childhood memories. Sadly, there is always someone in a neighborhood peculiar or  eccentric, so different that children choose to laugh at that person. The person becomes entertainment for the lazy days of summer. There is a lady like that in "My Grandpa And The Haint." Her name is Madame Toussaint, an old hoodoo lady." 

Now that I am a woman there are feelings for these people. Usually, they are lovable, mind their business and wouldn't hurt a butterfly. I'm sure these women and men had many stories to share if only we, as children, had been taught to appreciate their tales. I wonder how many stories have passed by and through my community that I missed,  and a story lost is like spilled milk.You can't recover that nourishment, that refreshment again. It's gone like a lost memory.

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