bobsticks
12-12-2008, 05:28 PM
This morning my Grandfather passed away.
Well into his nineties he led a wonderous life of many successes and a few failures, always anchored by familial devotion. He is survived, though I suspect not for long, by his wife of seventy-two years, as well as three daughters and a host of grandchildren. Of note too would be the many of his compatriots who visited in his last days to give support and strength, respect and rememberance. I'm thankful to them for making his way easier.
I always remember the house as one of warmth and laughter. He was a man of words though he often became entangled in them...and usually at the least opportune time. A spectacular visage he, and while I'm not entirely convinced that he didn't wear a cardigan and tie everyday for the last thirty years of his life, I could not conceive of him as stern.
This particular time of year is most poignant. I remember vinyl recordings of old-time radio shows, the smell of the Meerschaum pipe, Dickens and Poe and London and his indulgence of this adolescent's young taste for rock and roll...a taste that would ultimately be balanced by his own love of Classical.
I can see in the mind's eye the handstrung rows of popcorn and handmade ornaments, and snow on the trellis and across the fields. I can smell fresh pine and hear fresh words and bizarrely conjuncted descriptors as the angel fell from the top of the tree.
It should come as no surprise that I've walked a few dark roads. When the wild years passed my Grandfather was one of the first to welcome me back to the family, without judgement and without condition.
I want to thank Feanor. I would imagine it's frustrating posting so many seemingly ill-received missives on the Classical genre but they have been a gift to me. Over time, as I've needed to find common ground, I've used your shared knowledge to bolster my own perfunctory and humble learnings. In my last conversation with ye ol' patriarch we discussed Dvorak and Handel, Tchaikovsky and Schubert...and how Gershwin was the "Devil's Music" (lol)
Thanks for helping me reconnect with my Grandfather. It means more than you'll ever know.
Love 'em while you can
---sticks
Well into his nineties he led a wonderous life of many successes and a few failures, always anchored by familial devotion. He is survived, though I suspect not for long, by his wife of seventy-two years, as well as three daughters and a host of grandchildren. Of note too would be the many of his compatriots who visited in his last days to give support and strength, respect and rememberance. I'm thankful to them for making his way easier.
I always remember the house as one of warmth and laughter. He was a man of words though he often became entangled in them...and usually at the least opportune time. A spectacular visage he, and while I'm not entirely convinced that he didn't wear a cardigan and tie everyday for the last thirty years of his life, I could not conceive of him as stern.
This particular time of year is most poignant. I remember vinyl recordings of old-time radio shows, the smell of the Meerschaum pipe, Dickens and Poe and London and his indulgence of this adolescent's young taste for rock and roll...a taste that would ultimately be balanced by his own love of Classical.
I can see in the mind's eye the handstrung rows of popcorn and handmade ornaments, and snow on the trellis and across the fields. I can smell fresh pine and hear fresh words and bizarrely conjuncted descriptors as the angel fell from the top of the tree.
It should come as no surprise that I've walked a few dark roads. When the wild years passed my Grandfather was one of the first to welcome me back to the family, without judgement and without condition.
I want to thank Feanor. I would imagine it's frustrating posting so many seemingly ill-received missives on the Classical genre but they have been a gift to me. Over time, as I've needed to find common ground, I've used your shared knowledge to bolster my own perfunctory and humble learnings. In my last conversation with ye ol' patriarch we discussed Dvorak and Handel, Tchaikovsky and Schubert...and how Gershwin was the "Devil's Music" (lol)
Thanks for helping me reconnect with my Grandfather. It means more than you'll ever know.
Love 'em while you can
---sticks