We laid my Grandpa Dale to rest this past Tuesday and my heart still hurts from having to say goodbye to him. In my head, I know that he is now with Jesus. In my heart, I am still aching with sorrow from having to say goodbye to the man that was my grandfather, hero and friend.My grandpa and I had a special relationship in that I used to spend my summers with him up on his farm in Northern Missouri. Even as I type these words, my eyes are welling up with tears because I loved being around my grandpa so much. We used to have the best conversations about history, guns, women and life. My grandpa passed on words of wisdom to me that still stick with me to this day.
I know this entry will not resonate with anyone out there in the blogosphere except for me but I just want to recapture some of my favorite memories of my grandpa.
-My grandpa is the man who taught me how to throw a knife and a tomahawk. The first summer I was with him, he made me a throwing knife out of a lawnmower blade.
-While driving down Pike's Peak in Colorado with my Uncle Scott, the brakes of our car went out. My grandpa kept yelling at my Uncle Scott to drive the car into the mountain before we fell of the edge. My uncle Scott opted to hit a wayside dumpster in a rest area. I think we caused all the onlookers of our crash to pee their pants.
-One night before bed, I was doing push ups only to have my grandpa stop me and show me the proper way of doing them...at age 67.
-Everytime we went to grocery store, he would always say, "See anything you can't live without."
-He always called me, "Bud."
-One day out in his workshop, my grandpa made the statement how much he disliked the name, Dale. "Why in the world would you ever name someone Dale?"
-We once watched the entire Godfather trilogy in one day.
-Each morning and night, my grandpa and I went to various farms testing milk. We would get up before dawn. It always seemed like it took us for ever to get our shoes on in the morning. It is because of these memories that I asked my dad if I could have my grandpa's boots. My hope is that I will be the same kind of man my grandpa was.
4 comments:
that post meant something to me toad. as you know, my papa is my hero as well. i'm sure that your life will be a testimony to his good name.
Thanks Gentry.
just reading your post sent my mind back to my childhood and my grandmom. i love you man. you are in my prayers.
thanks for sharing this post. i lost my grandpa 5 years ago and i still feel the sorrow of missing him. i hate that Dustin wasn't able to meet him, he was so quirky, like your grandpa. so much to learn from them, thanks again.
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