June 2008 was a very hard month for me. I lost someone very special, my Grandpa Al. It was not until I saw my grandpa in the hospital that I realized how wonderful our relationship had been. All of the memories we shared, even from when I was four or five, will stay in my heart forever.

I always loved going down to Norwalk to visit grandpa and my grandma. I would bring him his favorite thing, a chocolate milkshake from Nik’s. I remember Grandpa taking my family and I out for a ride on the family boat, The Little Zip. My hair was being blown back from the wind, and I felt the light spray from the Long Island Sound’s white caps. I heard the white caps smacking against the boat sounding like little “claps”. I looked back at my grandpa; he was wearing the hat he would always wear when we went out on the boat, the tan worn-out B-17 Instructor cap (He was a B-17 Flight Instructor during World War 2). Seeing the smile on his face made would always make me smile too. His favorite place to be was on The Little Zip. He was so free, away from all of the doctors, away from the nurse that took care of him and my grandma; it was just him and his family.

A Memory that I will never forget is when my grandpa and I were walking down the dock hand in hand to the pool. I wrote a poem about the memory in sixth grade. It went a little like this…

Grandpa and Me
Walking down
The dock,
Hand in hand
Smiling faces
In the
Warm,
Smooth breeze,
Walking to,
The pool
Still,
Hand in hand
Walking down
The dock,
Grandpa and me!

While I was writing this poem, my grandpa was becoming very sick. He had to go the hospital. I was thinking to myself “Oh No! Is he going to be ok?” I was very frightened, and thought about him every day. I saw him suffering, it upset me to see him so sick. About a year later he passed away at 92 years old. I was devastated, I loved him so much and I was afraid that our memories would be lost forever. At his wake there was a table of pictures, the picture right in the front was of him and I walking down the dock. I thought about how lucky I was to have a grandfather who loved and cared for me, even when he became very sick. Like when we went to look at the Little Zip, he in his wheelchair and my brother, sister, and I were walking beside him. The three of us went onto the boat while he watched from the dock. He kept a very close eye on us and did a head count every few minutes. He wanted to make sure nothing happened to my brother, sister, or me as we played aboard the Little Zip and wandered around.

My Grandpa Al and I had a great relationship. We shared many wonderful memories that will always bring a smile to my face. In a way Grandpa Al, is not really gone. He is looking over my family and me everyday and will be in my heart forever.
Grandpa and Me!