My Grandfather, who recently turned 82 is on the verge of dying. I have been asked to say a few words at his funeral. I decided I might as well make a blog out of it and pay tribute to him. If my mind was not so busy thinking of how to honor this important man, I would be asleep. So, I figured I might as well get to work...
First of all, I just want to say that I would not be here if it weren't for my Paw Paw Charlie. He introduced my parents to each other many years ago. I also want to say that I don't think I would be the person I am today without him and I am pretty happy with how I am turning out.
Who is Charley Radley? I know that in his 82 years he has been many things to many people. Son, brother, high school football star, sports fan, paratrooper, boxer (whose boxing gloves I happily played with as a child), husband, father, dedicated employee. He was a hero who would never want to be described as such. I remember hearing the news that he had pulled someone away from an overturned truck while others looked on with fear. He did it because it was the right thing to do. He was a comedian with a great smile, even recently. When he would get frustrated over a hand of cards and say, "damn" or "damn, damn damn." I had to giggle. I am sure he was talking about the dam down the road form their house : ) ). More than that, my mom, who worked with him at the City for a handful of years described him as her biggest cheerleader, but don't tell his old football buddies about that.
For me, I have to agree with my mom. He believed in me and never held back from showing it. He never spared on opportunity to share some wisdom. Even before his memory started fading, I would hear that wisdom over and over again (some of you here probably know what I am talking about). But, by the time I was an older teen, I had the sense to realize that was one of the ways my grandfather told me he loved me. During my younger years, I remember feeling privileged that he would let me work in the garden and even use the motorized tilling machine. When I was older and visiting at the Lake, I was privileged to spend some early dark mornings with him hoping to get a bite on a hook (I also felt privileged to get back to the house and climb back in bed). He was a motivating factor in me going to college and saw that helping me through my first year was a worthy investment. Whatever direction I have gone in, he has been full of love and understanding. Besides being my Paw Paw Charley, I always felt like he was my biggest fan. He has always been there to cheer me on.
As a result of his unwavering support, the thought of disappointing him was something that I always feared. At almost every visit, he would say something like 'I'm proud of you, boy' even into my early thirties.
Recently and even more so in the last few days, I had the unfortunate realization about how self-centered I have been in our relationship. How can you not want to be around someone that makes you feel so important? I just hope he knew how important he was to me.
Because of these thoughts, on one of my last visits , when he told me how proud he was of me, I made sure that I told him that I was proud of him too.
And today, I want to tell my Paw Paw, an example for me of responsibility and stability the last 34 years of my life, someone who I can definitely call my hero, that I am proud of him.
"I am proud of you Paw Paw Charlie."
