Most Influential
I’m sure that some (most?) of you have heard me talk about my grandfather. He rescued me from a horrible life, and taught me to stand up and be the best man that I can. I would love to be able to be as wise, intelligent, creative, and compassionate as he was. Perhaps I’m setting a standard too high for myself, but I would love to someday be half the man that my grandfather was. He only had a 6th grade education, but he still managed to build up (and sell for a good profit) two businesses. He used his money to retire and buy rental property that he hoped would provide for his family after he was gone, but that’s another story that you’ve already heard.
I can’t remember a time in my childhood that my grandfather wasn’t there for me. He would tell me that when I was a baby, he would walk across the alley to my parents’ house and stick his head in my window. He would cluck his tongue at me, and that was the first sound that I would react to. My reaction was always a smile, he told me. I know that I’m supposed to love my parents above all else, but I’m certain that the first affection that I held towards another human was my grandfather.
He provided everything that I needed. Sure, my mom did a decent job at providing for me, but the luxury items, and some other needs were always paid for by my grandparents. My grandmother was the nurturer, but my grandfather was the provider. Rarely did he ever turn me down for anything that I asked for. He would usually make me justify my desire, or earn the award, but I almost always got what I wanted from him.
I’m a software engineer by trade, and I have my grandfather to thank for putting me on the path that got me to where I’m at today. He bought me my first computer when I was 7, and two books on how to program. By the time I was 8, I was writing spreadsheet software for him to help him manage his income and expenses on his rental property. Most of the hard work of gaining the knowledge necessary to get where I am today I can accredit to my own determination. However, if it wasn’t for the wisdom and guidance that my grandfather has given me over the years, then I would probably be a truck driver, or a cook in a grease diner, or something less desirable.
I’m not saying that I always made the right decisions. There were times in my life that I couldn’t hold a job, couldn’t pay my bills, and didn’t seem to be able to go anywhere with my life. No matter how low I got, my grandfather would be there to carry me out of the hole. I can’t count the number of times that he would pick me up and put me back on my feet. I am eternally grateful to him for keeping me on the right path.
I could go on and on about all of the wonderful things that he did for me over the decades that we spent together, but I think it can be best summed up with these words:
I love you, Papa, and I miss you.
