Driving With Grandpa

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before in an earlier posting, and I'm too lazy to check the archives. Even if I did, it's worth repeating but I love my grandfather. One of the biggest benefits of coming to obscurity to finish my undergrad studies was connecting with him (and my aunt). My father's ambivalence to his own family kept them a relative mystery.

But luckily I made inroads with his mother before she passed. And now I have had the opportunity to speak with good ole Grandpa C. The man is 81, but still sharp. Sprite, lively. And he has so much to say.

Like most stereotypes of grandfathers around the world, he has lots to say. And will pretty much say it to everybody. There were times were I drifted off into an abyss but I now I regret all the wisdom I missed that he might have imparted.

Here are some of the nuggets I've garnished over time:

- American women are not well built.
- Black women take their men to the altar, while others are more apt to just accept what the man can offer them
- Women that take short elegant steps are like queens
- American women have their breasts so propped up, you could drop a live scorpion in them
- Share everything with your wife because she's your partner

And that's all from one conversation.

I think I've appreciated learning about my history as well. As a psych major (yes indeed I am; even I forget) I'm interested in makes people tick. As a vain individual I'm very interested in what makes me tick. But I'm also interested in people's stories. It's why my favorite show growing up was Biography on A & E. So Grandpa works out perfectly. He gives me local history in such a vivid way.

So far I've learned that my passion and altruism is best traced to him. My grandmother, his first wife, might be where I get my more adventurous sexual tastes and temper, but also my penchant for intelligence since like me, she finished high school at 16. The temper, well that's both of them too. Thank God for my mother's influence or I might be a rage-a-holic.

Mostly though I just appreciate him. Even if he wasn't so interesting, it's just been nice to get to know him, to appreciate the bond. He always offers encouragement and love and he's always been there for me even though I basically didn't know him for the first 20 years of my life. I thought about the fact that I am working so hard to move back to New York that today was the first time that I realized I'm really going to miss him. I think I'll actually have to visit Massachusetts. He's worth it.