The LaGrange Daily News contains a surplus of our family history, its most important dates having been splashed across the pages now for more than two decades.

Today we add to that history, and my grandson Connor Reed makes the headlines.

Now 13, Connor-man is a quick thinker, a trait that may contribute to the sudden and historical event that took place a couple of week ago. He has the wit of a comedian and the mind of a scholar. You can almost see his brain churning when he needs a quick comeback.

There is the recent wisecrack while we were vacationing in Galveston, and the subject of my looks came up. He said, “Popman, I think you look better in your mind than you really do.”

Yes, the young man also has a special way with words. He demonstrated more wordsmith abilities with his mom recently. Rach was mad at him about something, and he said, “When you get mad, mom, you really show your age.”

Even with all of this obvious talent, the young man is still having a hard time absorbing my early teaching to him about how to treat a lady. As you all know, that is one of our many areas of expertise. Naturally, I try to teach him every chance I get, such as when we are together at a restaurant.

He knows I always ask the waitresses their names – something I’ve always done – and I’m trying to instill that good habit in the young man. He doesn’t seem interested in learning the skill, though, because he’ll start hiding behind his menu as soon as he sees a waitress walk up to the table. After she leaves to turn our order in, and Connor-man comes out from behind the menu, I remind him that he may not know it, but he is cursed to become Popman in 20 years or so.

“You’ll unconsciously ask a waitress her name when she comes to the table one of these days,” I said, “and then you’ll know the curse has begun.”

This scene played out the other day when we had a very nice, friendly waitress at our favorite Galveston restaurant. Her name was Maggie. Of course, Connor hid behind his menu during the introduction phase of the demonstration. Then he slid down low in his seat when I pulled out the phone to play her a song the Statler Brothers used to sing about a girl named Maggie.

The next day when we drove by the “Miller’s” restaurant, that scene flashed before Connor-man’s eyes, and he popped off: “Popman,” he said, “do you want to stop and see Maggie?”

As the years go, we may forget some of our kids’ and grandkids’ humorous shenanigans. But, in Connor-man’s case, there is a date in his young history we will not forget. That, in particular, is what we came here today to tell you.

I received a phone call from the amazin’ blonde a couple of Sunday afternoons ago, and she gave me the surprising news:

“Connor was baptized today,” she said proudly. I was almost speechless. I expected him to be baptized within the next year or so, but I did not expect it this quickly. But with the young man’s spontaneity and quick thinking, we should not be surprised.

Two young girls had decided to be baptized that afternoon on the last day of their gospel meeting in Cleburne, Texas. When they announced that the girls were going to be baptized, Connor was kind of “fidgety,” as his Bamaw put it. So, she asked him, “Connor, are you thinking about being baptized?”

He obviously had been thinking about it for a while but hadn’t told anyone. He was trying to muster up the courage to step out into the aisle. That day he did. He stepped out and made that great confession about his faith in Jesus, and he was soon baptized in His name.

As a result, this date, along with a few others, goes down into the history books as one of the key and most memorable days in our life. It is the day my first grandchild was baptized – this witty, spontaneous and amazing grandson.

Friends, if you should tell our history sometime, ages and ages from now, be sure not to omit the day my grandson goes down in history: July 15, 2018.