Headed East

I am headed up to the Northeast for a few days. My Grimsbe will be turning 90 on Saturday. So, I will be joining my family to help him celebrate turning the big 90!

We had originally planned a surprise party at the French King, which happens to be the one and only restaurant in their booming metropolis. Unfortunately, he has been having a few health issues in the past few weeks, which has forced us to cancel the big surprise party. We will instead have a smaller family gathering in the hospital.

Grimsbe, is quiet the character. He is well known for his one liners, his unconscious approach to life, or his ability to drive my grandmother crazy. He has worked hard his entire life, yet never really enjoyed the fruits of his labor. As long as I can remember, he has always wanted a Cadillac, but never splurged because the Buick was good enough for him and Grammy. That was just the kind of guy he was, he would give the shirt off his back to any of us, but for himself he was stingy. The price to fill up his gas tank along has probably started to kill him.

He was a die hard red sox fan. He would sit in the room off the kitchen in the dark and listen to the game on the radio, even if the game was being televised. He was born in 1918, the last year that the red sox won the world series before the 86 year curse of the bambino. After the red sox broke the curse and won the world series I was on the phone with him and he said something to the effect of "okay, I can die now, they finally won." I went to visit him last summer. Before I left I attended a Devil Rays game and happened to acquire a signed Johnny Pesky baseball. I gave it to him and he was absolutely shocked that someone would give him this ball. He asked me repeatedly if it was really for him. He held on to that ball for the rest of the day, and then found a spot in the kitchen to display it at all times. He was like a little kid.

He has always been a good eater. My mom is a fantastic cook. I can remember while growing up, he loved to come to our house for dinner because she used spices and always made "gourmet" food. By no means was anything that came out of kitchen truly "gourmet," if that were the case my sister and I probably wouldn't have touched it, but to him it was "gourmet." It was fresh, hot, and actually tasted like it was suppose to be. The vegetables were always fresh and still crunchy, the steaks still had a cool red center, or when we had ribs the meat actually did just fall off the bone. One of his favorites was the idea that she actually marinated meat, it was as if it was a foreign concept for him. He always loved having my mom's cooking. Hell, I still love having my mom's cooking.

As long as I can remember he has always been very active. From picking blue berries, mowing his lawn, gardening or even skiing. He was always up for playing games or doing activities with us while my sister and I were growing up. He would play catch with us until we were blue in the face, swim in the ocean, or build a sand castle on the beach. He was always up for a good time. I have such good memories of going to the dog races or playing Yahtzee. He and Grammy take the bus to the casinos. He had the best luck, it is probably safe to say that he won almost every time. His game was/is Blackjack 21. I have never had the pleasure of watching him play, but the stories alone make me laugh. Remember that he has this unconscious approach to life, so I am not quite sure how he was always on top of his game when it came to 21.