Chasing Windmills

My Grandfather

This week marks the sixth anniversary of my grandfather's death. Not only was he my grandfather, but also my godfather and my confirmation sponsor. He taught me how to swim, an appreciation of music from another era, and instilled in me an abiding love for the Alabama Crimson Tide and that most revered of coaches "The Bear". I thought he walked on water. But as we grow, we learn that those we look up to are only human and yes fallable.
My grandfather was the son of an Alabama bootlegger. He would tell me stories of driving the truck to town, "leaving it" to go eat or watch a movie, then come back and drive home. My great-grandfather got busted. Had he not, I'd probably have a greater inheritance and might truly be called "Don Williams".
My grandfather entered the military and eventually got stationed in Massachusetts where he met my grandmother. She was a divorced mother of three, but that didn't stop him. They married and had four more children, my mother being their first-born.
They lived in Mass. until the summer before my mom's senior year. Mom begged and pleaded with them to let her stay and graduate with her friends. After all, she had older brothers and an older sister as well as aunts and uncles with which to stay. They wouldn't let her. So, she moved with them to the Birmingham area. Lucky for me, because otherwise I would have never been born. But I do sometimes wonder how her life would have turned out if she had stayed in Mass.
My grandfather had to edure a lot. He buried his father (whom he was named after) a son (who was named after him), and a brother. My grandfather was human and made mistakes, but he greatly influenced my life.

posted by Michael @ 6:39 AM