« American Politics are Killing Progress | Main | You Won't Find the Whole Story in the New York Times »

October 08, 2005

My Grandfather's Gift to Me: Cape Cod's Yesterdays

Americans are living longer. The average lifespan of an American is continuing to increase in age with each generation. Today, in the United States, there are 35 million geriatric patients (over age sixty-five). Of these, 4.5 million are now characterized as the "old old" (over age eighty-five). It is projected that by 2020 there will be 53 million Americans over age sixty-five (6.5 million of them will be considered "old old"). We must be doing something right... including our procreation.

I woke up at 3:30 am Saturday morning and there was no getting back to sleep. Anyone familiar with me knows I am not prone to insomnia. I can sleep with the best of them- just so long as it is before 5:30 am. Saturday morning was different though. Whatever caused me to open my eyes at such an early hour, my thoughts immediately went to my grandfather. At ninety-one, my grandfather has now become what some would refer to as “old old.” I would not have thought of him as such until maybe a year ago. Perhaps there really is something to that golf game and Florida living. However, Friday I got a call from my Dad that really drove it home for me. “There is a dumpster in your grandfather's driveway. We could use your help whenever you can come over.”

A dumpster in the driveway? He is in a retirement home, not a hospital. But then reality set in. I remembered my grandfather saying that he did not plan on being around for another Christmas after this one. Laying there in bed, I thought about my grandfather. I remembered times I visited him. I thought about how he stuck a letter I had penned to the local newspaper regarding the Ten Commandments up on his refrigerator- how he asked me (several times) where I learned to write. He brought out a story he had written in his school days and asked if I might like to read it. The story was of a gentleman (my grandfather) calling on his blind date at an all girls school. The writing brought me back to another era and struck me with just how much we have lost with each generation. When I returned the story to my grandfather, I was able to answer his question. “I think my ability to write must have come from you.” Nothing was going to cheer me up about cleaning out my grandfather's house.

What happiness could possibly come from such a depressing job? Aside from my loved ones, what two things do I most depend on for relaxation and sanity? Books and bicycles are my two favorite hobbies. Cleaning up my grandfather's house would yield both. Hidden in a corner of my grandfathers basement were treasures that, in my family, only I would be able to appreciate. Two 1950's vintage bicycles, in need of a little T.L.C., lay there waiting to be discovered. Books? There were boxes of books to be sorted through (some dating back to the 1800's). This library seemed to be anxiously expecting to be handled again, as books on my favorite subjects were always at the top of each box. I am a budding collector of books on Cape Cod and olde Cape Cod authors, and my appetite for both was sated. I left his house, not burdened by the gloom I had arrived with, but excited by the gifts my grandfather had once again given me.

The dumpster that had been intended to stay for a week was full by Sunday afternoon. It was loaded, not with treasures, but with years of children's and grandchildren's things that somehow had made their way into my grandmother and grandfather's attic and basement. My grandfather kept a tight ship, but understandingly left the kid's stuff to be throw out by the children. The treasures that my grandfather kept have been passed to another generation who will cherish them as he did, and my grandfather's influence will always be felt. Had it not been for his sharing his writing and books, I would have thought these obsessions of mine were a credit to Sandwich schools rather than my inheritance. The joy I find in reading and writing is just one of many gifts passed on to me by my parents and grandparents.

Originally, it did not feel right to me that we would be going through my grandfather's things while still blessed with his presence. It is out of respect for his wishes, however, that his house must be sold to help pay for the new home he has chosen for himself. I think it perfectly fitting that he is now in an assisted living residence located in a house that he built when it was new. What better place to finish one's years with dignity? I hope that I never forget the freedoms my grandfathers have given me and their fathers before them. We should all think more each day on what we have done and are doing to make ourselves worthy of these gifts. I will have to say good bye to my grandfather soon. When that day comes, I want to be able to say I honored him while he was still here, and pray that I continue to honor him after he is gone. There is something wrong with a society that seems to look on their elders as a burden rather than a blessing. Someday we will get our priorities straight...

Posted by capecodcyclist at October 8, 2005 08:50 PM

Comments

Post a comment