An Unexpected Veteran's Day Post

I toyed with writing a Veteran's Day post... and then I second-guessed myself because I've legitimately been feeling really low lately. But then a thing happened, and that thing involves my student Balance-on-Chair-Backs-Despite-a-Concussion, who came up to me earlier today and used the phrase "Otay" instead of "Okay."

"My grandpa used to say 'Otay,'" I told him... and so now I'm writing this post.

I, like the majority of the world, have two grandfathers. Both of mine have since passed... and are likely rolling in their graves since our President Elect has labeled World War II veterans, again and again, as "losers" and "suckers." But my Grandpa and Pappy were not losers or suckers. They were good men. They weren't perfect men... but they were really good men.

My Grandpa, who was my mom's father, was bald when I knew him. At least, he was bald in the memories I have of him... which makes it extra humorous that my favorite memory of him has to do with hair. He used to buy turnips (or maybe he grew them? I don't even know...) and slice them and we'd eat them raw, with salt, and when we ate them raw, with salt, together, he'd always say, "Eat that. It'll make your hair curly."

Not sure if it's the result of genetics or the turnips my grandfather fed me, but I do, in fact, have curly hair.

And then there's my Pappy -- my dad's father -- who was perhaps the jolliest person I've ever known. Pappy appreciated a strong vodka martini with ample olives... and even when I was no more than a child (five years old!) he'd let me eat those vodka-saturated olives.

To this day, olives are among my top ten favorite things of all time, and while I know I've said this a million times before, I'm gonna say it again (because it's clever and true): If you take the letters of the word OLIVE and rearrange them, you get "I love." And that's how I feel about olives.

It's how Pappy felt about olives too.

My grandfathers were not perfect... but they weren't "losers" or "suckers" either. They were good men.

Happy Veterans' Day to all the people out there who have fought for our country... and who continue to fight in the hopes that it might someday be the all-mighty nation it has the potential to be.

This guy might be the reason I've got curls...

My very favorite penpal of all-time, Pappy and I used to exchange letters several times every week. I still have every correspondence he shared with me.