strength

yesterday, i wrote that my grandfather has nearly lost his strength.

this morning, i am rethinking my words. yes, his physical strength is nearly gone...

but he is still fighting.

i walked in to his home this morning to find him sleeping and snoring. and i can't help but smile at my uncle's statement that he is "a tough little booger."

yes, he is.

paw-paw not only broke the earth under a hot summer sun, but he has been a survivor and fighter in many ways.

he wasn't supposed to live this long

he has lived way past his prognosis.

he fought in world war II. in the battle of the bulge.

one day when i was just a baby, a great mudslide rushed down the side of signal mountain and washed out a bridge. paw-paw didn't know the bridge was out and he went into the river, swept away by the current. somehow, he managed to grab on to a log and was rescued even though whole trees had swept by him and his vehicle is still lost, never recovered, perhaps a relic on the river floor now, housing catfish and sturgeon.

my point is, he has been a fighter. he has been a tough little booger. and we will miss him.