You've given me a new perspective on a lot of things- there are things you've said to me I will always remember, and ways you've helped me I will never forget.
For all the patience you had fishing, for all the silly things you did, for making me laugh and rewarding me for my good grades. For lifting me up and showing your support in every thing I do. I know you would be proud of me this day.
I wrote this short story my freshman year of college regarding a "remembered person" assignment
Little Lessons of Life
The town my grandparents lived in was considerable larger than mine. However, I lived in a rural township on almost 2 acres, and they lived in a more urbanized neighborhood filled with small lots. There was no place for my grandfather to store his boat at their house, so with my parents permission he stored it in our pole barn. Having him come to work on his boat at our house was an added blessing, because I was able to spend more time with him. He would drive a half an hour to our house to work on his boat, getting it ready to take out on one of our fishing vacations.
As I stepped off the bus after school I saw his over sized blue-green car sitting in the driveway. The barn door was wide open exposing the beat up old excuse for a pontoon that he so desperately adored. I grabbed the mail from the box and proceeded across the yard, dodging the trees as I made my way to the barn.
His medium height, and stocky build was slavishly hovered over my dad's workbench, vigorously working on a small boat attachment. Even though he was diabetic and had been living with cancer for about seven years, he could always be found tinkering around and fixing things. He was a stubborn man and being useful and keeping busy seemed to ease his pain and sorrows from the diseases that controlled his body. The clanging noise of the tools against the metal boat part filled the silence in the air. Unaware of my presence, he would yell out vulgar language in frustration at his work. I stood there examining him with admiration, despite his use of profanity.
His thinning white hair was soaked with his sweat. As he turned from his task to grab the grease-stained white towel to wipe his face, he must have caught a glimpse of me out of the corner of his glistening hazel eyes. His eyes always seemed to change color with his mood or even the clothes that he was wearing, just like mine.
With a look of sincerity, he called " how was your day at school? Come give Papa a hug." Despite his uninviting sweaty and grimy appearance, I always accepted his warm teddy bear hugs. As he enclosed his large protective arms around me, I could smell the sweat and grease from his body mixed with the fading clean smell of the herbal shampoo from his damp hair. His plump belly, along with his full white beard and his thinning white hair, his round glasses that protected his deep eyes and his chubby red cheeks reminded me of Santa Claus. Not the old fashioned "Dime Store Santa," but the authentic Santa from the movie, Miracle on Thirty-Forth Street. " My day was fine," I replied. I told him about the overly demanding substitute teacher I had for science that day.
"I am going to go in and make some lemonade. Do you want any?" I asked him with a faint smirk on my face, already aware that he would agree. :That would be wonderful," he said. " I think I will go in with you and take a break." " Take a break" always meant make a sandwich. He was know for his bologna sandwich with fried onions. I knew then that he would be done for the day, since the onions always made him sleepy. After his sandwich, he would be curled up on the couch, snoring in no time. When he woke up, he would talk to my mom for a while and then go home to return again the next day to do more work on his boat.
That summer his hard work and dedication to his boat paid off. The pontoons were painted with a silver glaze. The plywood floor was now covered with indoor/outdoor green plastic grass. A makeshift canopy, made out of a bright blue tarp, covered the top to protect us from the beating rays of the sun. As an added touch, a blue and white striped life preserver hung down each side of the boat. He was extremely proud of his finished product. We took it to the lake on our fishing trip, and it proved to be a success.
Once inside, while I made lemonade, he washed his large flawed hands and asked if we had peroxide to cleanse the bleeding cut on his finger. His hands reminded me of a cowboy's old leather glove; durable and multipurpose but worn and nicked from years of tinkering and fixing. I found the bottle and gave him a few cotton balls. He twisted the cap off of the bottle and proceeded to stick his whole index finger inside and shake the contents to cleanse his wound. "Papa!" I exclaimed in almost a scolding sort of way, "You are putting all your germs in the bottle." He looked at me with his eyebrows raised in his "papa's always right" way and told me that the peroxide would kill all the germs. Although I had to force myself to hold my tongue, I left it at that. I was twelve years old- old enough to know not to stick your bloody finger in a bottle of peroxide- but smart enough not to second guess him.
Papa and I always had a good time together. When we went fishing, we always had a contest to see who would catch the first fish. The person that did not catch the first fish had to pay the winner a quarter or sometimes fifty cents. If I caught the first fish, he would always pay up, but if he caught the first fish, he wouldn't take my money. He told me to save it. He loved me and wanted me to be happy. Camping with my grandmother and two cousins in his motor home proved an enjoyable adventure, too. We would all go for the weekend to a camping site and go swimming and fishing together. I didn't mind sharing my papa with the others. It did not matter who we were with, just as long as we were together and having fun. I would help him "fix" things when I could and run errands with him for his needed supplies. One of my favorite times as a kid was report card time. He would always give his grandchildren money for their A's. Throughout school, I rarely received anything lower than an A, so I got between ten and fifteen dollars to spend. He was proud of me and showed it by pampering me with money. He knew that by his pampering me, I would continue to do well in school. I have always had high expectations of myself, which I thank him for.
On my fourteenth birthday, I was sitting at home at the kitchen table doing my math homework, I said a silent prayer to that God would let my grandfather be at peace, He had been in the hospital off and on since Thanksgiving in a great deal of pain and it was now April first. Things were not looking so good for him. I thought he had suffered enough and it was time for him to go to a better place where pain was nonexistent. Not long after my prayer, the phone rang with news that my papa had left this trivial world to join a perfect world up above.
The immediate relief I felt was immeasurable. Then I began to feel that God was being unfair taking him away on my birthday; however now I feel special to share such a spiritual day with him. The day he died was not only my birthday, but the celebration of his birthday in Heaven.
I received this from my grandma (Bushie) on my sixteenth birthday-
When I was little he wrote me this poem that to this day fits me to a T-
DanielleHustle Bustle
Hurry Scurry
Never Linger
Never Tarry
Get it Done
On the Run
Hurry Up
Don't slow up
Busy Busy
Never Stop
Only to give a kiss
to Papa
Reading this poem brought tears to both mine and my grandmother's eyes. I was so touched that he verbalized his love for me in a poem. Not only had I inherited his knack for writing, but his busy habits and stubborn ways. I acquired his ability to deal with the obstacles life would occasionally throw my way. He was a strong man who overcame many obstacles in his own life. I learned when times were down, I needed to busy myself with other things to avoid the conflict of pain and stress. To this day, although sometimes difficult, I try to weigh all the negative situations by finding the good they have to offer. This, I believe, is what has kept me going and will enable me to succeed in the future. That ad the pleasurable memories of a fun-loving grandfather who was my hero and friend.
I received an A+ on this assignment- I know he would be proud.
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