06 July 2005
Spitting Images
Over the past few days, there have been incidents in my life that have allowed me to reflect on my time that I spent with my grandfather. My whole life, and I do mean my whole life, people have always commented on how much I look like my grandpa. Most of the time, I passed it off as people being nice and just paying a compliment. Between the two of us, we would joke around about it and he would say, "No we don't. He's too feo!" It was only this past year that my grandpa explained to me that Feo was just a nickname. I knew that, but he never really explained that he had given it to me as a joke, but that it would mean a lot more because only the people that were close to me would call me by that name. The more I think about it, I realize how much I'm gonna miss it. When it comes down to it, if my grandpa was half as proud of me as I am of him, I would take it as the ultimate compliment. Over the last few years I found myself trying to mold myself after him. While I will never be a full success at it, my goal is to do my best at it. After all, I know that would make him proudest. So as I go through my life, I may miss my grandpa, but all I have to do is look in the mirror and I'll see him; and it will remind me to live life to its fullest remembering all the things he taught me.
With this past weekend, the Fourth of July came and went for many people. Yes, we all celebrate our independence, but do we realize exactly what we're celebrating? It's not about barbecue and fireworks, and how good of a tan we can get. It's honoring the men and women who have ever fought for our country. Whether they were fighting on the initial battlefields of the Revolutionary War, or fighting to defend our country against other evils of the world, we should honor all our heroes on more than one or two days out of the year. What I'm getting at is that to me, my grandfather is my hero. He selflessly put his life on the line fighting for our nation.
With this past weekend, the Fourth of July came and went for many people. Yes, we all celebrate our independence, but do we realize exactly what we're celebrating? It's not about barbecue and fireworks, and how good of a tan we can get. It's honoring the men and women who have ever fought for our country. Whether they were fighting on the initial battlefields of the Revolutionary War, or fighting to defend our country against other evils of the world, we should honor all our heroes on more than one or two days out of the year. What I'm getting at is that to me, my grandfather is my hero. He selflessly put his life on the line fighting for our nation.
