I wanted to do a painted sketch of my grandfather today,
but, while this picture has some of his characteristics,
it is a younger and more simplistic version of him than I remember.
However, what I write about him does tell a bit of his story.
Grandpa Joe
He was a genial grandpa who smoked cigars, played the horses
and called his bookie every day on the rotary phone on his hall table.
He stuffed our pockets with m&m's when we came to visit
and told us jokes and fantastical stories from his rocking chair in the living room.
His great grandchildren called him GG
and he had the same childlike sense of mischief that they had.
People said that he was a "character".
He never owned a car or learned to drive, so he took the streetcar to
work every day and held an impressive position in his company.
He lived a very full life,
charmed many people
and was a very colorful man.
