Not Just Lip Service

First, I will apologize for the lack of updates. That said, moving on...

Okay, so we here at JSIA are going to go on a little break. Please permit me, I will make this interesting. Just this past week (on my birthday in fact), one of my most favorite people ever passed away.
This is/was my great-grandpa. He would be 98 in August, so to say he's had a full life is a bit of an understatement. However, that doesn't make his passing any less sad. We laid him to rest on Monday, and as I sat through not one but two funerals/memorial services, I was really struck by two things. 1. Funerals/death/burial has some really weird (and kinda messed up) traditions (at least in America, but other countries are not exempt) and 2. People only say nice things at funerals and it is REALLY rare that there is nothing negative to gloss over.

That said, there was nothing to be glossed over at his funeral. I know a lot of people may say that, but he truly was everything that was said about him, and nothing negative needed to be mention. There was NO LIP SERVICE, whatsoever. How refreshing, and how I aspire to live my life like that (there is already at least 15 years gone to that goal, but what can you do?).

Okay, so here is where this ceases to be a post about me crying and telling you how great my great-grandpa was (get it?) and I get to the point (FINALLY, I know). I am going to share with you, some of the most important lessons he taught me (just in case no one has told you how important they really are):

1. Never EVER stop learning. Just because you're 92 and the place you're living doesn't have a computer for you to use (and you've never used one before) does not mean you should give up on technology and not try to learn to use it. Receiving an email from your 92 year old grandpa in a personal care home is one of the coolest things EVER. I know for a fact that there are not too many people that can say that. He was the first people on his block to have a tv. Technology is NOT to be feared, but understood.

2. History is awesome. I took many a private tour of our county's historical society (he was a big supporter, donating a LOT of his time, energy, money and know-how to the historical society), and I really blame him for fostering a large part of my love of history (local and otherwise).

3. It is worth spending the extra money for something that is of greater quality. He bought two pairs of $80 Italian shoes in the 1950 (or 1960s?) that he wore until he died. FACT. He also taught me that it's worth paying a lot of money for comfortable shoes. FACT.

4. It is better not knowing what constitutes "mystery meat" (eg: hot dogs, scrapple, etc.). He was a butcher for so many years that the lanolin from butchering lamb was permanently in the skin of his hands and he didn't need to use lotion (which I wouldn't think would be possible, but his hands were baby soft).

5. Never do anything halfway, and always do it right. This is the mantra of my whole family, but at least part of it can be attributed to him as he passed on the perfectionist gene along.

There were many more, but I leave you with the most profound:

6. Be a good person, always. If you live your life with a kind heart and put others in front of yourself, you can be 97 years old (long after most of your friends and family have passed) and you will still have a huge room of people mourning your loss. Plus, no one will wonder about your final destination, they will know you're in Heaven, which is where you truly belong.

I am sad to report, that I only have two pictures of him on my computer (including this one, with one of my other favorite people who passed away last year), but at least they're good ones.

I'll miss you, Grandpa Cookie, but I know you're in a better place.

Okay, bloggers, I'll be back with happier posts soon. Thanks for hearing me out. :)