My grandpa was in the navy around the time WWII ended. He was a post-war mine sweeper. His ship would take to the seas and seek out any leftover mines. Once they found them, they destroyed them so no ships would incur tragedy by running into them. As a kid he'd tell me some stories about his time on the seas. Now when he told stories, it would take him longer than normal to get through them because he'd crack him self up multiple times while telling the tale.
One of my favorites is when they were sailing to the next location, they came across a school of flying fish. They would "fly" out of the water along side the ship. One of the guys bet another guy that he couldn't hit them with the machine gun mounted on deck. The other guy took the bet. He loaded the gun, pulled the trigger, and let the bullets fly. At this point my grandpa would start laughing. In between breaths he managed to say "he couldn't hit a single one"!
He had a good number of caps that displayed the ship and read "Tin Can Sailor" on them. He gave me a few of those as a kid and I wore them proudly. He also had hats with the American Bald Eagle on them. That was his style. He's wearing one of them in the picture below.
He loved to write letters and notes. Whenever he'd come across a newspaper article or an old clipping from his collection that he thought I'd like, he'd write a letter, include the article, and mail them to me. I'm thankful my younger self didn't throw them away. I have an envelope crammed full of them.
There is a bicycle trail that runs alongside old railroad tracks. These tracks carried wounded civil war soldiers as well as Abraham Lincoln's coffin. Grandpa thought it would be a good experience to ride this trail. So him, myself, and sometimes my cousin Dave would ride our bikes along that trail. One time we road it from Seven Valleys, PA to the Mason-Dixon line at the Maryland border. As a young kid, I thought it was the coolest thing ever to be able to stand in 2 states at once. Sometimes we biked 20ish miles round trip. One of his favorite things was to reminisce on those times. He loved to remind my mother how I'd call him up and ask to ride the trail to get out of class. I was home schooled so my excuse was I could collect leaves to make it educational. I rode that trail so many times with him that I lost count.
His favorite hobby was carving. He carved mostly birds out of wood. He was amazing at it. The detail and craftsmanship was award winning. I spent many hours as a kid watching or helping him in his wood shop. Any whiff of sawdust brings me back to those days. The bookcase I have in my room, we built together on a rainy afternoon. Probably my most favorite thing he carved, I had a hand in helping with. Proudly displayed in his living room is a life-sized carousel horse. You read that right. He carved a full size carousel horse out of wood, painted it, and mounted it on a pole. It's one of the finest crafted works I've ever seen.
Being a grandparent, part of his joy was to spoil us a little. Throughout the years, he'd slip me a five or a ten and tell me it's soda and candy bar money or to get something nice. As I got older, I sometimes would politely decline and tell him he didn't have to do that. But he'd still give it to me anyway. Then, one day, he gave me some words of wisdom. He looked me straight in the eye and said "Here's a piece of advice. When someone hands you some money, you say "thank you" then put it in your pocket and don't say another word." I never refused him again.
My grandpa wasn't very tall, but ever since I knew him, he always drove a pick-up truck. Any time he got a new one, they were always bigger and better. Whenever he'd come to pick me up, I'd sit on my front steps and count the cars until I saw his familiar truck turn the corner. Speaking of driving, he used to be a bus driver. Many years ago, when the Washington Redskins held training camp in Pennsylvania, he had the privilege of driving them to and from training camp. How many people do you know that drove an NFL team to where they needed to go?
He was willing to do all kinds of things for us. He'd drive us to swimming lessons. He'd take us to the store and get a treat. He'd drive 40 min to take me and my cousin to a mountain lake and sat for hours as we swam and enjoyed ourselves. I still won't forget the look on my mom's face when I came home with a Lego airplane that I asked him to buy me. I can't remember the exact price, but it was more that $20 which was a lot for a kid in the 90s. That airplane is still proudly displayed in my room to this day.
One of my more recent and favorite memories of him was Christmas of 2017. I wasn't able to go with the family on the summer trip to see him and Grandma because I was in Australia. So I surprised them by showing up on their doorstep the day before Christmas Eve. That Sunday we went to church. The pastor had put personalized christmas cards for each attendee on their seats. My grandma, who's still sharp as a tack, found her card, but didn't see Grandpa's. She asked him if he got one. Now Grandpa was very hard of hearing. So he said "what?" She repeated herself. He didn't hear her again and just said "okay". She replied "No not okay!" and made him stand up. He stood up without hesitation and there was his card on his cushion. My grandma retrieved it, looked at me and said "He smashed it." I did everything I could to hold the laughter in. That was a great Christmas.
I could tell many more stories and wonderful things about my grandpa. But that would require a book as I knew him 28 years. Very early this morning, at 91 years old, he passed peacefully in his sleep. He is with the Lord now, which is the best place to be. Husband. Father of Two. Grandfather of Nine. Veteran. Bus Driver. Carver. Kind. Caring. Wonderful. My Grandpa. You will be greatly missed. See you in the funny papers.
