regarding heroes

the result of a lot of years ends up in a list.

89 years of living life to arguably the fullest possible extent is written into a page. an entire existence, summed up in four paragraphs.

if i'm half the person he was, i hope to deserve a quarter of his page.

my family is humble. we're not loud about our accomplishments, none of us ever has been. we handle things with a certain grace and dignity. that was learned from him.

in 89 years, i never knew he worked on the apollo 13 rescue.
in 89 years, i never knew how significant his patents were.
in 89 years, i never knew about his involvement in his community.

because he never bragged. he was never vocal about all that he had done. he was a quiet, wonderful man. he left his work away from us all. he left his stories and adventures for appropriate times. he never made our times about his times, until we begged for him to. he never told us stories about him, until we pleaded with him to hear them.

but i did know he liked orange juice in the mornings. and cereal.
i did know that he liked to kiss my left cheek goodnight, and his kisses were always warm.
i did know that he read, voraciously, constantly.

because he was there. because my family is close. i saw him in the mornings, i saw him at night because we made the time to be together. i knew who he was because he gave us the opportunity to know him.

in 89 years, i knew his children. i knew what a man was capable of molding when he put forth the effort. i knew the magic behind physics. i knew how to figure out the angle and measurements of toy buildings. i knew things about space, i knew things about the earth, i knew things about people.

in 89 years i heard about adventure, and life, and thought, and science, and love. i heard about hijinks and bravery and courage and family. i heard about one man's adventures, and his impact on those around him. i heard his humour, his wit, and his intelligence in everything he did. i saw his loyalty and love.

because in 89 years, he lived. he lived more than anyone i've ever known.

my grandpa.