Grandpa

My Grandpa was a great man.  Standing tall at 6'3", he always had a smile on his face and a joke in his pocket.  Filled with sarcasm and wit, bravery and love, my Grandpa was one of the sweetest and most genuine men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.  This past Thursday, January 17th, he had a sudden stroke and passed away - without suffering, quickly and painlessly.  He was surround by friends and my Bubbe, his adoring wife of 68 years, ending a life-long companionship.

My Grandpa always lived far away from me, so we weren't as close as we may have been otherwise - though that never stunted the love and adoration I always had for him.  I distinctly remember him taking me to Sea World down in Florida when I was a kid, and making funny voices for the dolphins as they swam by - a perfect window into his humor and sweet personality.  He was loving and warm, always fun to be around, kind and giving, and for some reason, always seemed to have an endless supply of root beer and grape soda on his outside patio.  I was terrible at keeping up with calling him, and he always gave me well-deserved grief for it.  He simply wanted to be in touch, hear my voice, and know about me, and my life.  I will always regret that I didn't call enough; That I never got to hear his voice before he passed, or that he got to hear mine.  However, I can rest easy knowing that he never suffered, and I am thankful that I will always remember him as a strong, healthy, and smiling person - because that is how he would have liked to be remembered.  If nothing else, this can remind us all that we truly only get one life, and that every moment, and every person, is special - especially those who mean the most.

I will always carry my Grandpa with me.  I will find him popping up in my sarcasm and wit, my appreciation for music, my ability to keep any rhythm, and my slightly curved nose that is, no doubt, from him.  I will hold nothing but wonderful memories and a heart full of love.  Though I may not have gotten his height, I certainly got his heart.  Thank you, Grandpa.  I will always and forever love you just as you were.

Just this past weekend, I learned the story of how they had met - a story I had never heard before.  The amount of joy it has brought to my family is just so beautiful that I had to share it with whoever would listen.  

In 1943, Al (my grandfather) was stationed at an air force base in Nebraska.  His cousin, Mary, was in New Jersey at the time, and asked her friend, Selma (my grandmother), if she would write him a simple note to keep his spirits up during the war.  A letter was written, as she felt it was the least she could do to support the war effort, and sent out to Nebraska.  Al responded, and soon after, letters were flying between them across the country - a romance had begun.  Sentiments, emotions, and pictures were exchanged, but Al could no longer contain his feelings in simple correspondence.  On a small scrap of paper, a song was composed - lyrics and notes, music and love, all from the deepest part of his heart were placed on this tiny piece of paper, forever dictating the rest of their relationship.  In July, 1944, with a fortunate two-week furlough, he is in New Jersey - with Selma there, waiting for him.  Four months later, Al and Selma were married.

When the war ended in 1946, Al was handed his discharge papers and packed up his belongings.  His uniforms and papers were packed up in a box and sent back to his family in Chicago, but the little scrap containing his song was no where to be found.  He paid it little mind, as the lyrics and melody were forever with him.  He moved to New Jersey to be with Selma, and his box of belongings soon followed.  When the two moved down to Florida, the dusty box of papers made it's way along with them, and again when they moved back to Chicago.  In December, Al decided to begin cleaning out excess clutter, and stumbled upon the box that traveled along side him for so long.  When looking through it, he discovered a small scrap of paper at the bottom - the music and lyrics to the song he wrote for Selma 68 years prior.  Shortly after, at a holiday concert where they lived, Al sang the song to Selma one last time.  You can watch the video here.  In the meantime, the lyrics are below.

"You are my dream, 

A vision out of the blue

A lovely song coming true,

A morning flower, in spring.

You are my dream

A picture here by my side,

No cloak of darkness can hide,

You're heaven sent to me.

A silhouette, 

An angel drifting down from above,

I reach to you, my guiding light, to love,

Someday we'll meet.

I'll hold you close to my heart,

Because I've known from the start

How lovely you seem,

You are my dream."

-Albert Goldman,