I remember my mom calling me from the garage. I thought i was in trouble for some reason being i usually was. When i walked through the door i saw my mom gesture to me that someone was on the phone. As i put the phone to my ear i could hear a old and tired voice come through the speaker. I knew then it was my grandpa calling. He wanted to go fishing the following day so he invited me to spend the night. At first i thought he was drunk because i was thirteen at the time and he had never once before asked me to spend the night. He didn’t like kids that much but i was his only exception. Even my sister was never able to get as close to him as i was.

My mom drove me to his house where i had been many times before. We went there for holidays mostly with an occasional visit. I was nervous at first for i never had spent much alone time with him before and now i was staying the night at his house. My mom stayed for a bit to catch up then left us to go back home. At first it was awkward, sitting on the couch watching the fishing channel making an occasional comment on the fish being caught. Finally, i was able to strike a conversation. We talked about fishing at first and by the time we were ready to go to bed i had heard his life story. Where he lived growing up, what his occupation was, how long he served in the service, everything.

The next morning i woke up extra early for my excitement wouldn’t allow me to sleep. To my surprise my grandpa was already awake and ready for the day ahead. I jumped from the couch and got ready as quick as i could and walked out into the living room. We sat at the table while he drank a cup of coffee. I knew something was bothering him because he kept asking me if i needed anything. He usually just told me to go get what i wanted from the fridge if i was hungry or thirsty. The next thing he said was the most devastating news i had ever heard up to that point in my life. He told me he had pancreatic cancer and it was to far along to treat now. He said the doctor gave him 6 months to a year to live. It felt as though my heart was crushed and i could feel the tears welling in my eyes but i held them back to not cry in front of him.

We left soon after not to wallow in pity of the situation. We got to the dock where my other grandparents lived. We unloaded the truck and the poles were already set up and ready to go. We casted five lines into the water and awaited a bite. While we waited my grandpa sat on the dock and tinkered with a reel he had brought with him. He turned away to get a tool when i saw his pole getting a bite. My first reaction was to grab it and set the hook. As i reeled it in i could tell it was a large fish for it was dragging line away from the reel. All of a sudden the fish took a sharp right and swam through the other five lines tangling them all into a birds nest of line. When i finally got the fish in i thought my grandpa would be furious because it would take hours to untangle them or we would have to cut all the lines and re set them up. When i looked up i asked him if he was mad. He looked back and told me that this is what grandpas are for.

After this i never saw my grandpa again. The girl he had been living with never returned our calls or answered the door when we knocked. A month and a half later we heard through a friend that he had passed. We were upset to begin with but what upset us most is that we never saw him again, we never had a funeral or cremation for him, we never were able to walk through his house again. I realize now that my grandfather was trying to make up for lost time by letting me stay the night. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer and wanted me to remember him how he wanted me to. Not as an old, grumpy, tired man who sits at his house and drinks all day; but as a veteran, a lineman, a fisherman, and greatest of all a grandfather who cared about his grandchildren.