Grandpa Lowe died today, October 26, 2008

I worked today and then went to Mom and Dads. We celebrated my aunts 65th birthday tonight, even though she won't technically be 65 until the 29th. That is another writing practice topic. I'll just say it was a fun event.

Dad told me that Grandpa died today about 5:00 p.m. I was still at work. The things I remember about Grandpa are his kindness and tenacity. He took me in as if I was one of his own blood-related grandchildren. He loved me and never abandoned me, even when I had abandoned myself. He worried about his family. He wanted everyone to be happy, healthy and in love. His last few years were very difficult for him physically, he developed Parkinson's Disease. It was extremely debilitating, yet his mind was sharp as a tack. It grew increasing frustrating to him that his thoughts were clear, yet he couldn't express them because his body wouldn't cooperate and he couldn't speak clearly. He lived a good, stable and well-managed life. Lessons I would do well to learn. A couple of years ago, Grandma Warner gave me an article from our local paper about his time on the Grand Junction High School Football team.

The article is called "The Zero Gang", and I can't find it on a search of the online Sentinel. The story is a terrific chronicle of the 1936 football season at Grand Junction High. The Tigers were undefeated, never tied and never scored on, racking 506 points and a Class A championship. No team has challenged that record to this day. Grandpa is quoted in the article. He didn't play high school football except his senior year when he went out "because I wanted to see what it was like." He said he picked a good year. They had a fantastic coach, a stellar team who believed they could do exactly what they did. "As a man believes so he will achieve".

I'll miss you Grandpa. I love you.