Son, when we were outside washing the car today, I thought about my dad. I loved to wash the car for him when he got back into town. He was a traveling salesman. He would tell everyone what a nice job of "simonizing" the car. He used to rave about my football skills. He was proud of me, just like I am proud of you. Ha. Ha. Sorry you never got to meet your Grandpa Willy. I am sure grandma tells you about all the times when me and uncle Hap were young and dad would come home with surprises for us. Once he brought us home a punching bag. Grandpa Willy had big dreams for his family. For some reason his dreams were never realized. He died at age 60. It's a sad thing, son, no one came to his funeral. At that very moment my life flashed before my eyes and everything fell into place. I knew what I wanted! I enrolled at the University and four years later graduated with a degree in agriculture and forestry and haven't looked back since.
Grandpa Willy and I used to have arguments sometimes and I tell you he was kind of going crazy in his last days. But now when I look back I feel only compassion for him. He didn't have it easy. He lost his father when he was three and his older brother took off and never had time for him. So he really never had the family support that is so vital to a human being's life. He did have grandma who was a very loving wife.
Great job putting in little details. Great job.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you connected the beginning by talking about how his son and him washed the car and how he used to wash the car for his dad. You also had really good details and I thought it was a good idea to predict what happened after Willy's death.
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a really good job of portraying Willy, and the whole dynamic that went along with him. Nicely done!
I like how you wrote this. And bringing the washing the car into it as a starting point was a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThe agriculture and forestry degree is an interesting detail.
ReplyDelete