My Grandpa

There is a man of goals, hard work, failures and accomplishments. One of the highest integrity that only I could hope to posses. He is a man who has seen challenges and overcome. Lived a life giving love and good spirit to others. A soul who did not know a stranger and surely did not like gossip. This man, is my Grandpa.

There is a time when I didn't know how tough times would be. One of the most hardest things for me to see and hear is the suffering of my Grandpa's finality of life on this earth. I do pray that he can be given the release of his great anguish as he did his life in great respect to the One above. Not one thread of responsibility left untouched nor of love not shown. He does deserve an end to the relentless painful struggle.

My sisters and I both love the man with a heart of gold. That heart of gold was given by him, with wisdom he so wanted to share and for a reason. He wanted so much to teach us values. He did. Myself, along with my two other sisters were built with the values that he so richly exposed us to. He was not discriminatory and never did we see a hypocrite. His love for animals indescribable!

Never did a dog or cat on the side of the road, who could have been lost or dumped there, went alone once my grandpa found them. He just didn't know how to turn one away. Trust me, that my grandpa's veterinarian can contest due to the number of animals and extent to the amount of vet bills that went through the vet's office because of my Grandpa's unveiling love for those animals in need. My grandpa would rarely ever go on a vacation but I know of one occasion when he drove hundreds of miles over days to purchase a so called "wheelchair" for one of the dogs. This dog's hind legs had become paralyzed. Bob, (Grandpa) built a special shelter for the dog and gave it love like all the other dogs. Many years later that dog regained feeling in his legs and was able to walk again.

During church, grandpa Bob (we call him by name, Bob) slept. This was not uncommon at all but the part that I used to get so embarrassed about was when he would start to snore. I remember giving him a shove so the pastor wouldn't notice. One day, I was at the pastor's house preparing for a wedding that I was going to play piano for. The pastor brought up Bob sleeping during church service. I was not prepared to hear what came out of the pastor's mouth. The pastor said "I know your Grandpa sleeps through most of the service.....but I bet he gets more out of that service than most of the people in the church...".

As I am now in my early 40's I look back on all the days with my grandparents and especially the "after church" moments. Going out to eat as a kid with them was the most exciting thing to do! We knew there would always be something in it for us because Bob you see was the "spoiler". We took unusual trips sometimes after church. My grandparents had a RV that I can only recall them taking on vacation (1) time. However, after church many times we would go by their house, transition to the RV and take it to McDonald's or the nearby diner. Of course the couple of house dogs (all other dogs had outdoor houses) got to go and a Big Mac or hamburger was obviously in it for them. You could see how much they appreciated that! My sisters and I knew Bob, and whether it was McDonald's or a treat and the dairy shop, he was sure to treat us. Many of the lessons we learned from him was the stories he would tell on the way to somewhere, or on the way home.

There is much more I could tell you about the man that I adore. Unfortunately I might ramble for days, and I don't think any of us have time for that. It was important for me to pay tribute to this man. Today he lies unresponsive in the hospital, and was to have surgery to save his life 3 days ago (cancelled due to weakness). I had to put my thoughts down. I don't know what he is thinking or if at all. One song that he loved to play to my sisters & I was "Me & Bobby McGee" and we would all sing it together. I hope wherever he is, his favorite song is playing and he can relish the moments we had which were filled with only happy times. My greatest of all hopes is he can see all the smiles he put on our faces and the joy that he gave us just by being himself.

I love you Bob, wherever you are. I wish I could be with you by your side. Since I can't be there, I am hoping you know exactly what my heart feels for you. Love Always "Your Sweetie Pie".