On the 8th my grandfather, Ed Knopp, passed away. He had lots of family around, but I still wish I could have been there. If you get a chance, read the obituary. It should be a goal for most people to have an obituary like his. Here are some random memories I have of him:
-My grandpa taught me how to throw fireworks. While my parents were telling me to light them and run away, he was showing me how to toss black cats.
-My grandpa made me stilts.
-My grandpa set up some hay bails for archery practice for me. I was always much better with a bow than he was.
-I always thought grandpa was a much better harmonica player than a fiddle player.
-My interest in investing and the stock market is owed to my grandpa. At the ripe age of eight him and my grandma taught me how to read the stock quotes in the daily paper.
-If napping were a sport, then my grandpa would be the Michael Jordan of napping. I'm trying to follow in his footsteps.
-My grandpa has been to all seven continents. In that I am also trying to follow in his footsteps.
-My grandpa could be quite controlling at times. When I was 13 he deemed that I was too skinny and that my sister could loose a few pounds. To remedy this situation he would take food away from my sister and give it to me.
-I never knew anyone who could talk to everyone like my grandpa.
-I was always told that swearing was a sin and I believed it was a sin you could go to hell for, so I was always shocked when grandpa and his brothers would get together and every other word was "goddamn , hell, or son of a bitch". Sometimes I think they just swore at each other with no topic of conversation.
-I remember watching the Friday night line up with my grandparents "Dukes of Hazard" followed by "The Incredible Hulk" and then "Dallas". I always thought Dallas was terminally boring.
-My grandpa used to grab me, hold me down and scratch his whiskers against my face. This minor form of torture always entertained him.
-My grandma and grandpa taught me how to play blackjack at an early age.
-My grandpa was a paradox. He scrimped and saved all his life but would give money freely to the grand children. When the can opener broke he waited until can openers went on sale to buy one, but he and my grandma bought me a new car for graduation. They then bought me another one when the first got old and run down. He is the reason I am now a spoiled brat.
-Grandpa taught me (by force) to eat my vegetables.
-I got to go up in one of the planes my grandpa went sky-diving out of. I was 16 and he was 70. I remember him just kind of toppling out of the plane and he was amazed how at how fast he fell away from me.
There hasn't been a lot of death in my family so I'm kind of confused at how to deal with this. Of course I'm sad, but I'm sad for myself knowing that I won't see him again in this life. I've been so lucky to know my grandpa for so long. So much of what I try to achieve in this life is based on what he achieved. He's always been a role model and I count it as a blessing that we were so close. I think the only thing to say is he will be missed.
3 comments:
Sorry to read about your Grandpa. You have my condolences.
That's quite a laundry list. He sounds like a really interesting guy. I still don't have the nutz to tumble out of plane. And I too remember the dulldrum of watching Dallas with my grandfather. Hopefully, he can now carry on in the jolly and gregarious way you paint him in.
My regards...
Jason
To Grandpa. Cheers.
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