The vast majority of my childhood is littered with memories of fishing with my grandpa. As a child friday meant fishing with grandpa. As soon as school was over I would anxiously run home to get my things packed for the weekend at my grandparents. Now I never really had a good relationship with my father, he was a dink, for a lack of a better term, but my grandfather was my father figure throughout childhood and still to this day. I love him, and my nana of course, with my whole heart. I will carry our memories of fishing, and other stuff, in my heart until the very day I die, and no amount of money in this world could replace that.
My grandfather is a great man, a truly unique individual. If ever there was a person I wish the world could meet, it would be him. He's not by any means a rich man, but he loves with a heart thats too big and too kind for many people to even be deserving of. He has been my guiding light and my guardian angel throughtout my entire core existance and every step I take is a result of the traditions and values instilled in me by this very great man. Without a figure like my grandfather in my life, I truly don't know where I would be today and it scares me to think about it. For my grandfather and I, fishing isn't just something you do. It's a way of life. You see grandpa came from a poor family. His father was a potato peeler in the war, which obviously was not a very high paying job, so from a very early age he was raised to hunt and fish for his food. To stay warm in the winter he would have to put bricks into a fireplace and then place them under his mattress night. Ya he had it tough, but the hard uprbringing shaped him into the man he is today.
What truly makes him stand out from alot of people, is the fact that he does not need money to survive. Grandpa is a true blue mountain man. When I wanted a new hat, he went out and shot a raccoon and make me a hat. If i wanted to keep the fish I caught, I had to skin them myself or else they went straight back in the water. He was never by any means a "mean" man, a little hard headed, but what old man isn't right? No my grandpa was the DIY guy long before yotube or even the internet existed. He taught me many things like how to build a fire, how to build a shelter, and many other outdoors and survival techniques. However the one lesson I hold closest to my heart, is the fact that man can have all the money in the world and still be unsatisfied. True riches and true value, comes from what you have already, the love you put out to those around you is the richest form of value one could possess. It's what you put out there that defines you and your value, your true value to those around you and those who love you. My grandpa is loved by many, and is known by everyone. Without him our families world would be a very different place.
At 28 years old, I now have children of my own, whom I adore and love with the same devotion that my grandpa showed me. And my children love me and they know that they are the centre of my whole world. As I said, my father was not a good man, he treated me very poorly and without someone like my grandpa to get me through it all, I'm scared i may have turned out just like my father. Everything I have in my life, albeit not much, but I dont need much, Is because of that outstanding man I call grandpa. If ever I had to pick a hero, someone to model my life after, without a doubt in my mind, my grandfather is my hero.
I love you grandpa with all of my heart.
