YaYa

My grandfather was a well respected man. He was often called upon to give speeches at local goings on here in town. He was one of the few remaining who could fluently speak our native language.

His speeches were often filled with humor, but each one taught a lesson. It didn’t matter what the situation was, if you had a problem you could go to him and he’d impart his wisdom on you.

He was a speaker at my wedding.

His parting words were, “And now to my new grand-son, I have one thing to say. You have just left the Land of the Free and must now live in the Home of the Brave.”

He had us all rolling we were laughing so hard. A few months later, he became ill. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer and because he never complained, it was too far advanced for any kind of treatment to help. He was too weak for chemotherapy and his cancer was inoperable so we just pretty much had to wait it out.

Even on his death bed, he found ways to make us laugh. He had a way to make anything humorous, even his down death.

He eased all of our minds when he explained to us that he wasn’t going to die. He said he had always wanted to be a cowboy and now it was time for him to “go west”. We put a little teddy bear in his casket. One dressed as a cowboy, hat and all.

He will always be missed. He touched the lives of everyone who knew him in some way. That was pretty much the entire town because his favorite pastime was to stand in the post office and watch people coming and going for at least an hour or two a day. He’d always greet you with a smile and a kind word. Never anything trivial, like the weather…his comments were personal. His way of letting you know that he noticed you and that your presence meant something.

Today was a great day. It was only made so because of a compliment I received. It was said in kind of an off-handed way but it meant the world to me and I will always remember the moment it was uttered.

I was in the secretary’s office when someone came in to visit with the secretary about some missing paper work for their child. When he entered, I said hello and commented on how I liked his new jacket.

He looked at me and said, “Thank you very much! I just got it in the mail yesterday. I can’t believe you noticed. That’s something your yaya would have said, I just know it. You take after him.”

“Yaya” is our word for grandfather. I learned a lot from him. He had a huge part in making me what I am today. I guess it’s more noticeable than I thought.