GOODBYE GRANDPOP
last night marked the passing of my grandfather. i can’t properly formulate my feelings into words at this point. i’m sad, and i’ll miss him, but i am also thankful that he went peacefully, and now i know his suffering in this life is over.
my grandfather was a special sort of person. i remember every time somebody would put a movie on, he would roll his wheelchair in front of the television and start telling a story. usually the one about the cat that would ride on his lap in the tractor. sometimes about the mountain lion that ate the hikers, but usually the cat one.
so, yeah, i heard the cat story countless times. it didn’t really have too much of a point, but that never stopped grandpop from telling it. i think he was more concerned about ruining the last 15 minutes of a movie and forcing you to watch it again. i think he laughed to himself after he successfully botched the end of your movie. he was that kind of guy.
this is my favorite picture of grandpop. my wife told him to make an ugly face, this was it. i think it oddly captures his personality.
the other one i always think of is his words of advice on pubic lice. “paint your balls in kerosene.” nice, grandpop.
all in all, i will miss grandpop. i’ll miss him like hell. but in life, there is but one great adventure, and that’s death. it’s the only true unknown. we cannot study it. when the time comes, we can only put on or backpack, grab our walking stick, say goodbye to our loved ones, and brave that great unknown the same way we came into life.
alone.
i love you, grandpop. good luck on your journey.
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