(no subject)

My grandfather passed away Monday night. My mom called me Monday afternoon at work and told me he probably wasn't going to make it through the night and gave me his number and I was able to call him and say goodbye - I couldn't really understand much of what he said but my aunt held the phone up to his ear and I think he could understand me, so.

He made puzzles, he created the fine game of pegboard battleship, he was an expert on the chemistry of glass production who spent some years involved in the Hancock building glass lawsuit (he worked for the company that made the glass). He had a big vegetable garden and most of all loved fresh tomatoes. He wrote a weekly family letter - later emails, often more than weekly, and forwarded lots of internet humor and the occasional virus hoax. He had a wicked sense of humor and faced his and my grandma's illness with more realism, honesty, dignity, and integrity than I'd ever seen before. He loved really bad Chinese food despite having been to China twice. He told stories over and over again, but a lot of them were really good stories.

I haven't talked to my dad yet; I don't know if he's still in England at a conference or in Columbus by now or what. I hope he's okay.