A Grumpy Old Man

My grandpa could be a right bastard at times.

I guess I loved him, in that way you’re supposed to love relatives you only see once a year or so, but it definitely wasn’t easy.  He was a bear of a man, with a gravelly voice that always sounded as if he was either pissed off, or had just discovered that you were yet another member of a group of people he collectively referred to as “retards”.  When I first saw the movie “Patton”, I I remember thinking, “Wow, how did they get George C. Scott to do such a good impersonation of grandpa?  Did they know each other?”  Scott’s performance captured the essence of grandpa, only dialed down a notch to keep it family friendly.  He was a shouter, grandpa, and would argue the most ridiculous points in the loudest volumes he could muster.   He would insist, absolutely insist, that certain shows like the Republican or Democratic National Conventions be watched on television, which, when you are a kid, is received as an equivalent to a request to execute your own dog.  Nevertheless, he’d brook no debate, and whining was strictly verboten, so we’d all settle in for what was sure to be a mind numbingly dull evening, only to see him fall asleep in the first five minutes of his mandatory programming. Read the rest of this entry »