when i was back visiting the family over the holiday, my mom told me that i need to go to florida to visit my godparents. my godfather is living on borrowed time.
his memory hasn't been quite right for a while now but things really took a turn for the worse after my godfather fainted on the beach by his house in florida a few months ago. my mom said that grammy was having a tough time taking care of grampy because--in addition to his steadily declining health-- the dementia is really starting to set in. not too long ago grammy decided to have grampy stay at an old folks' home.
my godfather was a tall, handsome officer in the air force during the second world war. he was a navigator on B-17's that would fly from great britain to germany in broad daylight to make bombing runs over hitler's factories and transportation centers. after the war he flew in spy planes over north korea and the soviet union.
i think my fondest memory of my godfather is the time he took me fishing in the gulf of mexico during spring break some 20 years ago. i caught a decent sized bonita (missed out on the biggest fish on the boat pool by less than a pound) and was pretty stoked but it was my godfather that told the tall tale in his thick new england accent to all of his neighbors about the monstaa his godson pulled out of the ocean.
my parents went to nearly all of the football games i played in high school but i always looked forward to playing in front of my godfather when he and my grammy would visit. nobody else in my family really understood the game but it was grampy that would compliment me when i took on a pulling offensive guard during a counter or defended a double move pass pattern.
i've got to admit that i'm somewhat reluctant to go ahead and plan my trip to florida. i could cook up a million different excuses about lack of funds, school and work being too time consuming (finals are coming up and i'm in the last few weeks before the big porn convention) but the truth of the matter is that i'm scared to see how far my godfather's mind has lapsed. are his memory lapses along the lines of forgetting where he put his reading glasses or forgetting to wear pants? will he even recognize me?
i realize that the choice is in front of me. i have the chance to see someone i care about before he passes and look him in the eye and know that he made me who i am today. i have the chance to be with my godfather one last time and comfort my godmother through what must be trying times after some 60-odd years of marriage. the alternative of not going and waiting to see him put in the ground is even worse than going out there to find he doesn't know who i am.
his memory hasn't been quite right for a while now but things really took a turn for the worse after my godfather fainted on the beach by his house in florida a few months ago. my mom said that grammy was having a tough time taking care of grampy because--in addition to his steadily declining health-- the dementia is really starting to set in. not too long ago grammy decided to have grampy stay at an old folks' home.
my godfather was a tall, handsome officer in the air force during the second world war. he was a navigator on B-17's that would fly from great britain to germany in broad daylight to make bombing runs over hitler's factories and transportation centers. after the war he flew in spy planes over north korea and the soviet union.
i think my fondest memory of my godfather is the time he took me fishing in the gulf of mexico during spring break some 20 years ago. i caught a decent sized bonita (missed out on the biggest fish on the boat pool by less than a pound) and was pretty stoked but it was my godfather that told the tall tale in his thick new england accent to all of his neighbors about the monstaa his godson pulled out of the ocean.
my parents went to nearly all of the football games i played in high school but i always looked forward to playing in front of my godfather when he and my grammy would visit. nobody else in my family really understood the game but it was grampy that would compliment me when i took on a pulling offensive guard during a counter or defended a double move pass pattern.
i've got to admit that i'm somewhat reluctant to go ahead and plan my trip to florida. i could cook up a million different excuses about lack of funds, school and work being too time consuming (finals are coming up and i'm in the last few weeks before the big porn convention) but the truth of the matter is that i'm scared to see how far my godfather's mind has lapsed. are his memory lapses along the lines of forgetting where he put his reading glasses or forgetting to wear pants? will he even recognize me?
i realize that the choice is in front of me. i have the chance to see someone i care about before he passes and look him in the eye and know that he made me who i am today. i have the chance to be with my godfather one last time and comfort my godmother through what must be trying times after some 60-odd years of marriage. the alternative of not going and waiting to see him put in the ground is even worse than going out there to find he doesn't know who i am.
He missed it by a day, damnedboy