Grandpa
My grandpa had white hair.
I never knew him when he had a full head of it, or when it was any color but.
He had a few streaks of gray in his beard, under his mouth.
While he still could, he'd swim out about 100 yards every morning on his front, and return on his back. He left half finished crosswords all over the cabin.
He never walked very fast. I remember that my grandma always walked fasted than him.
Eventually, he stopped walking.
He'd give me a goodnight kiss on the neck, and his beard would tickle my neck.
He had a full beard, just like my father (his son).
I still remember the summer I stopped saying goodnight to everyone before going to bed.
I'm pretty sure it was around the year you stopped visiting for Thanksgiving.
Might have been the same time that I stopped going to summer camp.
My grandpa was very tall. He'd tell stories about reaching out to hug his mother but she would walk straight under his outstretched arms without noticing.
He had a curve to his spine as he grew older.
He eventually couldn't bend his arms very well, to reach things. He had a tool for that.
I really liked playing with that grabber. It hung off of the side board in the dining room, the same side board where you could find decks of cards.
Lunch and dinner time was always fun when I was a kid.
Specially when there were carrots.
Cause grandpa would stick them into his mouth a little at a time (cause he couldn't open his mouth very wide) and eat them like a machine.
Very amusing for a young child.
I remember stories he'd tell. Some of them of India, some of them from teaching.
He never yelled. Never got angry. He was always kind and willing to fix everyone's problems.
He liked to drive his boat down the lake to pick up a paper, every morning.
I'm ashamed to say that I didn't wake up early enough most days to join.
But when I did, I always manned the rope on the back of the boat.
He used to smoke cigars, but he stopped when he visited China one year.
He couldn't fit the box of cigars in his bag, he told the family.
My grandpa drove Lexus's. He was used to driving in Boston traffic though, it was a little scary when his eyesight got worse. One year a tree fell on his brand new car.
I got a good chuckle out of that.
Most everyone else didn't.
He helped my father and uncle build a raft to anchor out in the lake for us of the youngest generation.
He helped me get ideas so that I wanted to rebuild my brothers old tree fort.
He taught me card games, and played me in chess. And checkers. And Oh Shucks.
By the time I learned how to play bridge he had a lot of problems seeing the cards and didn't want to play anymore.
My grandpa was an MIT nerd.
Back when he was applying for colleges, MIT only accepted you as a student if you were in the top 10% of your class.
So my grandpa worked hard to be in the top 10% of his high school class of 10.
Eventually he would teach at MIT, become chair of engineering. I think.
I suppose that's part of the reason why I'm pushing myself academically as hard as I am. Between my grandpa and my father I know I have the brains for it.
Getting two undergrad degrees in three and a half years? That's for you, Grandpa. Because you made me believe I could without saying a word.
I'm sorry I didn't write, but I didn't know what to say. I knew you were slowly loosing your memories and I didn't want to remind you of that loss. Don't worry about Grandma, we'll take care of her. At least, I hope we will. I can't do much unless she wants to move in with me (which I don't advise).
I know it must have been hard for you Grandpa. My father tells me that you wanted him to find you your clothes so that you could escape, run away from the nursing home.
I only have hints of that feeling.
I'm learning a lot this year. I'll try to help the family not fight about your will, like they did with Peg's.
Be happy Granddaddy. You've earned it.
I never knew him when he had a full head of it, or when it was any color but.
He had a few streaks of gray in his beard, under his mouth.
While he still could, he'd swim out about 100 yards every morning on his front, and return on his back. He left half finished crosswords all over the cabin.
He never walked very fast. I remember that my grandma always walked fasted than him.
Eventually, he stopped walking.
He'd give me a goodnight kiss on the neck, and his beard would tickle my neck.
He had a full beard, just like my father (his son).
I still remember the summer I stopped saying goodnight to everyone before going to bed.
I'm pretty sure it was around the year you stopped visiting for Thanksgiving.
Might have been the same time that I stopped going to summer camp.
My grandpa was very tall. He'd tell stories about reaching out to hug his mother but she would walk straight under his outstretched arms without noticing.
He had a curve to his spine as he grew older.
He eventually couldn't bend his arms very well, to reach things. He had a tool for that.
I really liked playing with that grabber. It hung off of the side board in the dining room, the same side board where you could find decks of cards.
Lunch and dinner time was always fun when I was a kid.
Specially when there were carrots.
Cause grandpa would stick them into his mouth a little at a time (cause he couldn't open his mouth very wide) and eat them like a machine.
Very amusing for a young child.
I remember stories he'd tell. Some of them of India, some of them from teaching.
He never yelled. Never got angry. He was always kind and willing to fix everyone's problems.
He liked to drive his boat down the lake to pick up a paper, every morning.
I'm ashamed to say that I didn't wake up early enough most days to join.
But when I did, I always manned the rope on the back of the boat.
He used to smoke cigars, but he stopped when he visited China one year.
He couldn't fit the box of cigars in his bag, he told the family.
My grandpa drove Lexus's. He was used to driving in Boston traffic though, it was a little scary when his eyesight got worse. One year a tree fell on his brand new car.
I got a good chuckle out of that.
Most everyone else didn't.
He helped my father and uncle build a raft to anchor out in the lake for us of the youngest generation.
He helped me get ideas so that I wanted to rebuild my brothers old tree fort.
He taught me card games, and played me in chess. And checkers. And Oh Shucks.
By the time I learned how to play bridge he had a lot of problems seeing the cards and didn't want to play anymore.
My grandpa was an MIT nerd.
Back when he was applying for colleges, MIT only accepted you as a student if you were in the top 10% of your class.
So my grandpa worked hard to be in the top 10% of his high school class of 10.
Eventually he would teach at MIT, become chair of engineering. I think.
I suppose that's part of the reason why I'm pushing myself academically as hard as I am. Between my grandpa and my father I know I have the brains for it.
Getting two undergrad degrees in three and a half years? That's for you, Grandpa. Because you made me believe I could without saying a word.
I'm sorry I didn't write, but I didn't know what to say. I knew you were slowly loosing your memories and I didn't want to remind you of that loss. Don't worry about Grandma, we'll take care of her. At least, I hope we will. I can't do much unless she wants to move in with me (which I don't advise).
I know it must have been hard for you Grandpa. My father tells me that you wanted him to find you your clothes so that you could escape, run away from the nursing home.
I only have hints of that feeling.
I'm learning a lot this year. I'll try to help the family not fight about your will, like they did with Peg's.
Be happy Granddaddy. You've earned it.