Bryan’s Ramblings

The year 2005 is over and it’s time for my yearly ritual of looking back and determining what I learned, what I’d like to change, who I care about, what I care about, and all that “fresh start” stuff. The past couple of years seem to have been balancing acts for me…I’ve lost something significant and gained something significant. In 2004, right at the end of the year, I lost a girlfriend, but gained a best friend. In 2005 I gained a (much better) girlfriend, but right before the year finished, I lost a grandfather. It’s this loss that I will write about here because it’s one of the only remaining things from 2005 that I haven’t truly dealt with yet, I suppose.

Though the past 10 years or so I would not consider my grandpa and I to have been particularly close (he and my grandma lived in Las Vegas and I saw them at the most twice a year), I would say that the impact my grandpa had on me as a child is second only to my parents. While my dad is certainly the male role model in my life, my grandpa was to a large extent as well. Many would say that my love of humor, my love of baseball, and of course my love of food all came from my parents and largely my dad, but any or all of those things could just as easily be attributed to my grandpa too. So anyway, here’s my therapeutic (though not nearly exhaustive) list of things that I’ll never forget about my grandpa:

I’ll never forget how when he’d make a surprise visit to our house, I’d run to greet him and he’d hold out his hand for me to give him “five”; then when I did, he’d pretend like I slapped so hard that I hurt him.

I’ll never forget watching Dodger games with him (and my dad), learning about the intricacies of the game, and yelling at the TV with him before we ate dinner.

I’ll never forget him sitting with me in my car just after I got my license and telling me that if I just get my oil changed every 3,000 miles that I would have my car forever (and I believed him because he had his car forever).

I’ll never forget all the times he answered a waiter’s question of “Can I get you anything?” with “Yeah, a stack of hundred dollar bills,” as he held his thumb and forefinger out to indicate the size of the stack.

I’ll never forget seeing him plow through endless bowls of soup at Vegas buffets (or anywhere else for that matter) and still eating the rest of his meal too.

I’ll never forget driving to Radio Shack with him and picking up a battery for his ancient computer because it wasn’t keeping time.

I’ll never forget seeing him on his way up to light a candle with me at my Bar Mitzvah when he suddenly stopped and danced to “In The Mood” with my grandma for a short couple of seconds.

I’ll never forget the stories he would tell of New York, of his time in the service, of my mom’s youth, of all the past events that occurred long before I was even a thought in anyone’s head.

In the aftermath of all of this, the result is that my grandma and my great aunt are both moving to California to live together no less than ten minutes away from me. My grandma is the only grandparent I have left, and though her moving here will drastically change the lives of my family and myself, I am excited to soak up as many more great memories with her as I can while she’s here with us.

I think I gained more in 2005 than I’m even aware of, and I’m sure I lost even less than I probably feel. So 2006 is here and I’m ready for a new round of gains and losses that I’m sure will result in a net gain, just like 2005 did.

Happy New Year!