Grandpa

My grandfather died. My father, sister, and I planned a trip out to KS to visit him when we learned that his shoulder was bothering him. Dan and I had been wanting to go out there for a visit for a long time, but unfortunately just were not able to. A few days before we planned to arrive, he had died. Even though he was older, we were really shocked that he died. He had only gone to the hospital because he had pain in his shoulder. It turned out that his kindeys were failing and they pretty much believe that the pain in his shoulder was due to cancer. It was very sad that we did not get to see him and really hadn't for a couple of years.

He was my favorite grandfather. I probably get a lot of my brassiness or whatever you call it from him. He was your typical hardcore republican, who loved to debate and would at any chance he got, try to engage people in a political discussion, which usually turned into some sort of disagreement...he was so right-minded! I personally hate talking about politics, but whenever he would talk the way he talked, I actually understood what he was really trying to say. Not that I agreed with his beliefs, but I always knew that although he phrased things in certain ways, he was either just making an over-generalization or was just trying to get the goat of whoever he was debating at the time. We actually learned later that he would concoct ways to get at my uncle Kevin every time he came to visit. That's pretty funny, well, to me, maybe not to Kevin.

Anyway, he was definitely a character and although I was not able to see him before he died. I had the opportunity to look at pictures of him and his life and appreciate how special he really was. That is the way I grieve or have closure, is to look at pictures and remember the good times...that's what I want to remember.