my grandfather has passed on

it was a long week this week. on friday i got the news that my grandfather, known as grampy to a few and mayor olexia to others, had passed away in his sleep. it's been a tough week, filled with many tears and sorrow. i went back to mingo junction, oh with my sister and stepped back into time... into a small steel town once vibrant but now lifeless and rusted out.

it was my first funeral as an adult. i saw my grandfather in his casket. he had deteriorated terribly in the past several weeks, but they did the best to give him the appearance of the man we loved and knew.

but to me, that wasn't the point. he could have looked absolutely like himself, but that really wouldn't matter. i wasn't looking at the man i knew, it wasn't the spirit and personality and energy that made grampy... grampy. that is the person i miss. call me religious, call me whatever, but i just don't see how someone can believe that death is the end. there is more to life than what we see, i do know that.

Check out these links:

A Newspaper article honoring my Grandfather

Obituary

So, As Grampy said, Let the good times roll. And just take it one day at a time... life can end any moment, so live each day richly.

-me