Good Men, Great Men, and My Grandfather
There are many types of people in the world. Some are kind, some are evil, some are just plain bad. My grandfather was a man who fit none of those simplified categories -- he was what we should all strive to be. Most readers know of my affection for the old man, WWII soldier, Ford Motor Company employee, father of two. I won't tell stories of his greatness, but if we could be half the man he was, the world would be a better place.
He died last week down in Houston at my mother's place. I attended the funeral and got to spend a week in beautiful, scenic Houston. At the funeral, his nephew-in-law said something which I thought telling: he had never heard a bad word spoken about my grandfather in any capacity. We should all be so lucky. Lift a glass for Charlie Havis tonight, it's on me (figuratively of course).
7 comments:
Sounds like a grate man Brett. Feel blessed he was part of your upbringing. We'll have a toast for him at the TTL Beer Fest this afternoon.
My condolences Brett. I lifted many glasses Friday night, but only the first one was for your grandfather.
You said "if we could be half the man he was, the world would be a better place."
I wish I could be half the man of nearly anyone from that generation, and that includes the women. As I constantly tell anyone who will listen, they were a stronger, tougher, smarter and more competent breed of people.
Brett,
It's always sad when people we love leave our lives. But at least they were there for a while.
Karl,
This is completely sincere without any wiseassing: Maybe someone from that generation would say quit wishing and do it. People past, present and future all have the potential but many never realize it until helped by another. Just my idea.
J-hole, that is a good idea. But my grandfather's body was constructed entirely of iron, rope, and granite. No amount of time in the gym or anywhere else could make this soft-ass postmodern corpus into that.
Bread? Is this the benefactor who gave you those jumpsuits?
If so, he was a truly great man. Because you'd have to be pretty strong and confident to wear those around town!
Condolences.
condolences... Lost my grandmother a while back... Hurt like hell. Hope you're hanging tough.
ty all. and yes, red A, he did give me those jump suits. while cleaning out his stuff, i asked my mother if she knew whether or not he had more. she told me she wouldn't tell me if she did know.
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