grandpa

each time i fetched him a beer, he rewarded me with an indian head penny. he was a coin collector. each birthday he gave me a mint set (coins incased in plastic a display) of the coins produced that year. he told me that one day the coin sets would pay for my college education. as i got older and closer to college age my family and i joked that the $34.38 (the face value of 18 years worth of coins if broken out of the plastic cases) might buy one of my art history books.

now at 36, i realize the value of the coint sets far exceeds $34.38. his love for me that took the form of yearly coin sets is too great to measure.

last night my grandfather passed away.

alzheimer's disease stole away his hobby of coin collecting long ago. 12 years ago he had trouble remembering my name. later he failed to recognize his daughter. eventually he forgot who his wife was. last year he had hip surgery. only hours after the operation he forgot he had the operation and tried to get up and walk. he fell to the floor.

i don't know the man who's physical body finally gave out yesterday. the grandfather i knew had been gone for a long time. the disease stole him from my family and i.

so, in a very odd way, today i celebrate his death. although a battle has been lost, one can rejoice that the battle is over.

Posted by griff at November 24, 2002 12:01 AM