Joe Waldrop
My grandfather was an enigma, hardly around yet when he was he showered us with whatever he could. Spending money on us was his way of showing affection, he would pinch pennies elsewhere yet spoil us when it came to the essetials, school clothes, shoes and more. While out shopping he would be very bossy and what seemed to us angry, but I understand now he just wanted the best for us. He was very harsh but I have accepted that as his way, and I need to be more like him. While he was harsh it was because he was right and had the right to be harsh to get his point across is how I look at it. In my mind he was raised to believe a man is the one who provides and if he is good at it he can be cocky, and he was very good at doing what needed to be done, no matter how much anyone hated him for doing it. I belive he was very misunderstood, my family was very soft and he was the rock hard core holding it all together, with his passing many things changed and not for the better. They are what they are but things would have been better if he was around a little longer to dictate the way things should have been. He provided insight to me as being one extreme while I would like to be more like him I know I cannot be completely like him, I am not as hard as he is and never will be. While some of his actions will always be misunderstood I will never blame, or hold a grudge what happened happened for a reason good or bad and he was the spark that showed me another way to life, although harsh. He will always be in my memory, taken too soon from us meant to keep us in line for years to come but everything happens for a reason, I believe he held on to his anger for to long, showing me one must let go all the hatred buried deep inside us.