My grandpa passed away a year ago yesterday. I thought I'd repost my thoughts from that day. Miss you, Grandpa!
Gone Home To Shorty
~Frank Sinatra
My Grandpa is taking Old Blue Eyes to heart today. He passed away at 105am this morning. Besides this heavy feeling in my chest, I have all these random thoughts rushing around my head. Like how much he loved Sinatra. And how anytime you went to the garage you could hear Sinatra blaring on the radio and smell cigar smoke wafting through the air. I think about how much he loved ice cream and he'd split the gallon right down the middle for "Equal Shares" taking half for himself and splitting the remaining half between whoever else was eating it. I remember getting tractor rides. I remember his thousands (yes, thousands) of videos he had copied so that no matter what you wanted to watch... grandpa had it.
I remember how hot he'd get the wood stove in the winter. Poor Grandma would be roasting with the window open and the snow falling and Grandpa and I would be just perfect. I remember watching Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight with him on the "divan" while he rubbed my head. I remember sitting on his lap in "his chair" while he shared the Sunday paper Funnies with me. He'd share his apple with me too. He sliced off bits with a knife. I never knew anyone else who ate apples that way. I swear the slice I plucked off the knife from him tasted better than any other apple.
I love how he called me his "Bethy Wethy Doll". He used to say I was the cutest little boy ever. I'd always loudly protest that I was a girl. He'd tell me to look into his eyes and then "realized" his mistake and say "Oh you ARE a girl!" He was always patient with me. Much more so than with the boys. I remember him letting me brush his hair and put clown makeup on him.
Camping just wasn't camping unless Grandpa took me to get soft serve ice cream from McDonalds. Grandpa never liked going out to eat. He preferred McDonalds or a Whopper from Burger King. He loved ketchup on everything and claimed he hated pineapple... though he loved Hawaiian pizza. Grandma just told him the pineapple was potatoes and he seemed okay with that.
I remember visiting my grandparents when I was little. To get to their house you had to drive up a very large hill. My grandpa would make signs from cardboard with a greeting to each of us and something silly to say and he'd post them on trees on the way up the hill. It was so exciting to read what he took the time to write for us on each trip. I remember I used to fill up a ziplock bag with my own kisses for them so that they could have a kiss from me when ever I wasn't around.
I remember how much he loved grandma.They were married for 60 years. No matter what hard times they faced my Grandpa never lost sight of the fact of how special she was to him. If she was gone for even a weekend he missed her terribly. And I guess that's what I'm holding on to. The fact that he is with her now again. That he is by his "Shorty" once more. Even as I sit here with tears in my eyes , I at least have a little smile knowing they're side by side right now.
As my grandpa wrote to my grandma on August 15th, 1945 (as a Marine stationed in Hawaii):
Gosh darn Shorty, but just think that you and I will be together very soon now and there won't be anything to keep us apart.
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
~Frank Sinatra
My Grandpa is taking Old Blue Eyes to heart today. He passed away at 105am this morning. Besides this heavy feeling in my chest, I have all these random thoughts rushing around my head. Like how much he loved Sinatra. And how anytime you went to the garage you could hear Sinatra blaring on the radio and smell cigar smoke wafting through the air. I think about how much he loved ice cream and he'd split the gallon right down the middle for "Equal Shares" taking half for himself and splitting the remaining half between whoever else was eating it. I remember getting tractor rides. I remember his thousands (yes, thousands) of videos he had copied so that no matter what you wanted to watch... grandpa had it.
I remember how hot he'd get the wood stove in the winter. Poor Grandma would be roasting with the window open and the snow falling and Grandpa and I would be just perfect. I remember watching Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight with him on the "divan" while he rubbed my head. I remember sitting on his lap in "his chair" while he shared the Sunday paper Funnies with me. He'd share his apple with me too. He sliced off bits with a knife. I never knew anyone else who ate apples that way. I swear the slice I plucked off the knife from him tasted better than any other apple.
I love how he called me his "Bethy Wethy Doll". He used to say I was the cutest little boy ever. I'd always loudly protest that I was a girl. He'd tell me to look into his eyes and then "realized" his mistake and say "Oh you ARE a girl!" He was always patient with me. Much more so than with the boys. I remember him letting me brush his hair and put clown makeup on him.
Camping just wasn't camping unless Grandpa took me to get soft serve ice cream from McDonalds. Grandpa never liked going out to eat. He preferred McDonalds or a Whopper from Burger King. He loved ketchup on everything and claimed he hated pineapple... though he loved Hawaiian pizza. Grandma just told him the pineapple was potatoes and he seemed okay with that.
I remember visiting my grandparents when I was little. To get to their house you had to drive up a very large hill. My grandpa would make signs from cardboard with a greeting to each of us and something silly to say and he'd post them on trees on the way up the hill. It was so exciting to read what he took the time to write for us on each trip. I remember I used to fill up a ziplock bag with my own kisses for them so that they could have a kiss from me when ever I wasn't around.
I remember how much he loved grandma.They were married for 60 years. No matter what hard times they faced my Grandpa never lost sight of the fact of how special she was to him. If she was gone for even a weekend he missed her terribly. And I guess that's what I'm holding on to. The fact that he is with her now again. That he is by his "Shorty" once more. Even as I sit here with tears in my eyes , I at least have a little smile knowing they're side by side right now.
As my grandpa wrote to my grandma on August 15th, 1945 (as a Marine stationed in Hawaii):
Gosh darn Shorty, but just think that you and I will be together very soon now and there won't be anything to keep us apart.