Some sad news in the Kern household. Got a call on the morning of December 20th informing me that my dad's father, James, died sometime that morning. I have a quasi-eulogy over at my blog.
Efficient as ever, I took the time to do the Altman piece I was promising at the same time. I know that sounds crass, but please go take a look. I think you may be pleasantly surprised and hopefully a little moved.
Happy Holidays,
Kern
Thursday, December 21, 2006
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3 comments:
The loss of my grandfather was... important... big... life changing for me.
Celebrate the man - Alex. Spend some time and learn about all of the life tales that he never got to tell you... meet some of the people that knew him and experience the man through their eyes.
I am sorry for your loss and for your father's loss.
Andrea and I send our thoughts and prayers Alex.
Greg
Thanks all for you thoughts. I appreciate having you all as friends who look out for me.
It's strange mourning the loss of a man for whom you feel more grief should come forth, as without virtue of him being my father's father, I wouldn't be here today. The difficulty, like God, is in the details, and as far as my grandfather went, I wish both were a bit clearer to me. Most of the times I spent around him we had cursory discussions at best. I'm sure he loved me in the way that any patriarch of a clan does, but he and I rarely conversed even when he came to visit. Most of his time was spent talking to my father about Bedford, Indiana and the people they knew. Being squarely outside of their invisible circle of nostalgia, I often felt like our relationship was one of osmosis. I absorbed the anecdotal yarns spun by he and my father, but never felt truly involved.
My relationship with him was in sharp contrast to that of most of my peers, whose grandparents had a deeper level of involvement which led to deeper bonds and therefore deeper sadness. I wish I could say I had a deep enough relationship with him to feel pangs of sorrow, but I'll have to settle instead for mourning the loss of a wellspring of treasured tales and one in a long line of spectacular storytellers who spawned me.
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