An Ode To My Grandparents

I would guess that most of you don’t know that my parents divorced when I was young. I don’t remember my exact age, but it was before I was 5 years old. I feel that when most people hear something like that, they feel like it’s a negative thing. I never really noticed. Quite the opposite actually. Both my mom and dad re-married so I ended up with 2 families. At one time I had 4 sets of living grandparents!

My step-mother, Toni, was not very close with her father when I was young (her parents were also separated), but they did become close just about the time I was starting hi-school. He was a tall man that lived on a ranch in Palm Desert. I didn’t know him well, but I liked him a lot. Toni’s mother was around every so often. I believe she lived in Dana Point so she only came to visit us in Los Osos every once in a while. We weren’t super close either, but she was a very nice lady.

My step father’s family lived in Tustin, Ca. His mother Ann was a force. She drove a big Ford LTD, smoked cigs, wore a ton of jewelry and loved to play Cribbage. Vic, his father, worked as a security guard at Disneyland. Did we get in free you ask? Hell yes we did! In the 70’s he actually worked the back gate and would just let us in the back. Free parking and everything. As I got older he would meet us at the front gate and sign us in. (There’s a whole ‘nother story here that I’ll tell later. But let’s just say, Disneyland was my playground for many years. It was insane.) Vic was loud. But he was funny. He would shout at a family member, and then look at me and wink with a smile, like it was just a big show. He was awesome.

My Dad’s parents met in the war. My Grandfather was extremely tall. He would duck under doorways as he entered the house. He was really strong too. He had this Vulcan neck pinch thing he used to do to your knee. You’d be unable to move, writhing in pain saying “stop, stop!” and he’d just laugh. He was a sweet man that died too early. I think I was still in hi-school at the time. My Grandmother, Omi, was from Germany. After my Grandfather passed, she lived in Solvang by herself for many years. My Aunt and Uncle lived right down the street and we would always get together for holidays. I think she was the sweetest person I’ve ever known.

My mother’s father, my grandfather whom I called Pop was absolutely amazing. He had such a full life. I was just listening to my Uncle tell me about how he used to paint billboards by hand up in the bay area. This must have been in the 50’s. He was a graphic designer who had 3 kids and eventually moved to Lompoc, Ca. He had his own graphic design/silk screening business and also worked on Vandenberg Air Force Base at Martin Marietta. He drew plans and worked on such projects as the Space Shuttle. He was into biking, canoeing, archery, knives and pellet guns. He has a large collection of all this. His studio is basically a mini museum. In his later years he created many pieces of fine art. Painting and etching being his specialties.

Pop passed away a few weeks ago. He battled Cancer for several years, outliving doctors predictions. He was extremely strong willed and fought till the end. He passed on peacefully.

And then there was one.

My Grandmother. Aka, Nan.

I went and visited with Nan yesterday.

Around the time that my Grandfather really started to deteriorate, Nan was put in an assisted living home. She has dementia and can no longer care for herself. She’s 91. She’s still the same awesome/funny person I’ve always known, but her stories are jumbled. She is seriously so bad-ass though. I went to the home with my Mom and we walked down the hall looking for her. When we finally spotted her, she was all the way down the other end of the hallway at the locked doors trying to figure out how to escape. Ha! I love her. Just like I love all my Grandparents. What a special life I’ve been given to have so many family members that taught me, looked after me, and loved me.

And such is life. Make sure you give your family big hugs and tell them you love them, because you never know what’s gonna happen in this crazy life. I’m gonna make a point to visit my Grandmother as much as possible because if you saw the way she looked at me yesterday, you would too.

Much love everyone.

-Erik