What Kyle will wanna know when he grows up

Ode to little 18 mo. old Kyle...

You are so young that you did not 'really' know your Grandpa - or perhaps the better thought is that you won't remember him when you're older. You know his smile & his hugs. That's the best part. When you're older, you'll see pictures. You'll hear stories. So I thought I'd write down a few things for you to add to the collection. You see, me & your Mom grew up together - we were sisters in every sense ~ except the 'real' sense of the word. Your Grandpa, was my "Dad #2".

Your Grandpa was a quirky ordinary 'joe' kind of guy. He could talk your ear off when it suited him. He knew lots of little things about lots of stuff. He was a quantity man. He knew everyone in the neighborhood. From the second they moved in. Know why? Because he walked his dog... a LOT. Even when it was butt cold out. Whenever something was going on - he knew about it. The cops would call HIM to see if HE saw something suspicious in the area. That's a great neighbor to have... but not if you wanna throw a house party. We never tried that - your Grandpa would have busted us after the 2nd car arrived. AND he had direct instructions from my parents to call the cops ASAP. AND I knew my parents wouldn't have bailed me out of jail until I had sat there for at least 24 hours. Not a way to have fun - so we skipped that part. Now I'm gonna get your Mom in trouble if I continue on that line... so I'd best quit that!

Anyway - back to your Grandpa. When he was outside; he had a cup of coffee in 1 hand, a cigarette in the other & a dog running around somewhere. If he wasn't outside, he was either: working, sleeping or eating. He liked to watch storms. I recall standing outside with him & your Mom watching tornadoes that were barely a mile away. That area was affectionately called 'tornado alley', and I wouldn't recommend that behavior to anyone.

He enjoyed scaring kids on Halloween. Haunting scary music played from inside the garage - on a cassette tape of all things (google it when you're older to see what that is). A mock-graveyard was in the front yard - with a few 'dummies' in the lawn chairs next to it. And I do recall a ghost or 2 hanging from a near-by tree.

What do I remember as the silliest? Well, ordering from a McDonald's drive-thru. Strange, I know - but true none-the-less. He'd ask 'what do you want?' Then proceed to order 1/2 the store for 4 people in the car. I never knew why he'd ask what I wanted in the first place because your Mom and I always ended up with laps full of food & not enough hands (or mouths or stomachs for that matter!) The 1st time this happened I laughed and said 'I can't eat all this!' The response 'Sure you can.' Did we ever finish it all? Nope. Was it fun? Yes. Was it FUNNY? YES!! What kid doesn't wanna be buried in McDonald's french fries???

So remember Kyle, when pictures come out - ask about the stories behind them too. They're fun. They're the best.

In the last weeks, it was you who brought joy to your Grandpa. He talked about you. He asked about you. He loved you. That you can take to the bank.