16 years later, my PP Poppa can Rest In Peace. Before today, his grave had no marker. My grandpa fought in the #Guadalcanal campaign. He was a gold star dad. His eldest son (my uncle) was KIA in the Quang Tin province of Vietnam after only two weeks there. He was only 21. PP Poppa went on to work as a civilian for the FAA until his retirement. He’d tape movies so we wouldn’t have to suffer the commercials, and let us pick whatever we wanted; it was almost always Beetlejuice. He’d take us for tractor rides to visit gopher tortoises. He loved programming, and was always keen to show us his latest software. He loved to putz around in his workshop, building all manners of things wooden and electric. I remember being terrified of his Charles Allan Gilbert art; specifically “All Is Vanity.” His slight of hand tricks kept me entertained for most of my childhood. I still don’t know how he did it. One of the last times I spent time with him was during #hurricaneCharley. He was without power for a while, but refused to miss his morning coffee. He built a contraption to brew it. I remember the sly grin he gave me. It was the only time I’d seen him smile since my grandmother passed. He joined her in eternity five months later. He deserves to be remembered. https://www.instagram.com/p/CL-e0MxhC4P/?igshid=1wept8z2eo4dk
