Black spitting vile things.

In the summer between my 1st and 2nd grades my family made a trip to visit my Mom's family in north central Missouri. We hadn't visited since I was around 4 so this was all new to me. I barely remembered my Grandparents on my Mom's side at all. At the time we lived in Davenport , Iowa. Davenport isn't huge ,but compared to Mom's hometown area it was a metropolis. Mom's parents lived in a town called Harris. If you can find Harris on a map you're very lucky. It's population is around 92. And I'm pretty sure they were including pets.
Harris is built on a hill. 4 streets going up the hill, with 5 streets going sideways on the hill. My grandparents must have been important. The lived on top of the hill. The biggest town in an hour any direction from Harris was Milan which had a population of 1500. This was the hills of Missouri.
Everyone seemed excited about going to see our Grandparents. I was looking forward to meeting my Grandparents whom I really didn't remember. Rose was looking forward to riding horses. John was looking forward to playing with some cousins. And Steve and Geno were no doubt looking forward to the still that my uncle Kenny kept hidden in the woods behind my grandparents house.
As we went though Milan we passed though the town square. Dad pointed over to the courthouse. "See that old cannon there? That's where I first met your Grandpa John. He had a shotgun and was trying to shoot me."
"Why?" I asked.
"I kept your Mother out late once."
"How late?" asked Rose.
" 3 or 4 days."
30 minutes later we were driving up the hill to my Grandparents house. As we got out of the car my Grandparents came out and welcomed us. Grandma Nora looked just like Mom save 35 years older. Grandpa John looked like any picture you can find of an old farmer. He was tall and skinny with a weathered face from years working outside. He was actually taller then he seemed but was bent over a little with age. He was also strangely carrying an empty Folgers
coffee can.



John and Nora both gave me hugs. Mom had some other brothers and a sister up that weekend as well. They came out of the house and everyone it seemed was hugging everyone. Except Dad who was just not a huggable kind of guy. In the middle of all this hugging I saw Grandpa John spit something black out of his mouth into the coffee can.
Well that's odd, I thought.
Before I could ponder this any further my cousin David came running up , and we ran off to play . David was the closest cousin I had to my own age there , being only a year or two younger then me. While I was playing I noticed Steve and Geno wander off behind the house with Kenny. It was already dark when we arrived, so less then an hour later Mom called David and I in to get ready for bed. As we came in and headed up the stairs I could see Grandpa John sitting in his chair in the living room. Again he leaned over and spit something dark out of his mouth into the coffee can.
It had been a long day , and I fell asleep quickly. David and I woke up early the next morning and as soon as we ate breakfast we headed outside to play and explore the area. An hour or two later I heard Mom calling me. I ran over to the house and she told me that we were going out for a drive. She wanted to visit some places she hadn't been to in a while.
So Mom . Dad , myself, and Grandpa John and his ever present coffee can climbed into Dad's car. Grandpa and I sat in the backseat . Every now and then he would hold the can up and spit into it. I began to get very freaked out over this. I slid as far as I could away from him. Dad was asking Grandpa John for directions to someplace, but I wasn't paying attention to where as I couldn't keep my eyes off that coffee can. John noticed me staring but clearly didn't understand why. He thought I was just being shy.
The first place we visited was my Mom's old one room school house. I had never seen anyplace like this before. Mom wandered in to the old long abandoned building. While she was there she tore a small piece of wood off the wall, and the name plate off the piano as memento's. While we wandered around outside the building Grandpa John tipped the can over and poured out the thick black stuff he had been spitting out. I was now totally grossed out. I decided I had to know what was going on.
I got Dad alone for a moment .
"Dad, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Dad asked not really paying attention.
"Why does Grandpa John keep spitting out black stuff from his mouth?"
That got Dad's attention. He looked at me and opened his mouth as if to speak, but then turned his head away from me. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead as if deep in thought. Then he looked back at me with an almost sad look.
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice."
Dad knelt down and put his hand on my shoulder. "It's a Glidewell thing. All the men on your Mom's side of the family suffer from it. As they get older their spit turns black. It'll taste so horrible they can't swallow it. That's why John carries that can around. Since you're half Glidewell you'll probably get it too."
I was literally scared spitless. My mouth dried up. I looked over at Grandpa John spitting at the ground. My eyes grew wide. For the rest of the ride I looked straight ahead not really paying attention to what I was seeing. Even then all I could hear was John spitting into that damn can.
Toward the end of the ride my panic started to subside. Wait a minute I thought . This is the same guy who convinced me that Martians were invading the planet. How could I trust him? Renewed hope surged though me.
A couple of hours later we pulled back into Grandpa's driveway. I got out of the car. As we walked toward the house I saw Steve and Geno walking with uncle Kenny. With utter horror I saw Kenny lean over and spit something black out of his mouth. Later in the house I noticed that Kenny even had his own spit can.
My future looked bleak indeed.
At one point Dad leaned over and whispered something to me.
"You know your Grandpa John is lucky. Most people with this never ever get married. Most spend their life living alone in these hills. Don't worry If you do get this I'll make sure you get a little cabin next to one of your brothers."
Dad was just being a fountain of good cheer. I envisioned a life living alone with only my vile black spitting brothers to keep me company.
We left early the next day. When it came time to give Grandpa John a hug I ran back to the car the car screaming.
"He's just a little shy." Dad explained .
For the next couple of years I brushed my teeth 4 or 5 times a day and went though more mouthwash then the rest of the family combined. It was somewhere between my 4th and 5th grade years when I learned what chewing tobacco was.
My first thought was one of relief. I wouldn't be turning into a vile black spitting hermit.
My second thought was to remind myself not to scream and run away from Grandpa John anymore.
My third thought was " damn it he did it to me again." I promised myself not to fall for anymore of his twisted little jokes again.
In this I would of course fail miserably.