Of all the posts I have written and will write in the future, posts like this one are always the most difficult. September 9, 2013, was the day when my entire world was turned upside down and inside out because I lost someone that I considered to be my hero. My Grandfather, that I called Poppy was my rock and he kept me grounded through many life struggles. Losing him was one of the worst times in my life and I did not have my rock to help me through it. I thought my Poppy hung and moon and stars, and he could do no wrong in my eyes.
When I lost him nine years ago, he took a HUGE piece of my heart with him, but the lessons I learned from him will always live on in me. As much as I continue to try, there is no way I can ever be as great as he was, but I will never stop trying because I want to make him proud.
My Poppy was honest, caring, devoted, understanding, loving, compassionate, fair, and many other amazing qualities. I do not think there is anyone now or will ever be anyone else like him because he truly was one of a kind. I think that it is possible that God broke the mold when he made him. During my entire life, he never once disappointed me and I always knew that I could rely on him.
I have so many fond memories of him that I will never forget and will treasure until the end of time. He was a pro golfer that dedicated his life to the sport. I can remember times he tried showing me how to play and even though I was not doing well, he never gave up on me. I did not enjoy trying to play golf, but I did enjoy driving the golf cart around his golf course. As a young child, I loved being with my Poppy and rarely paid attention to the other golfers. There were numerous times I was in the way and had close calls with getting hit by the golf balls flying through the air, but he never raised his voice to me when he told me to watch where I was walking.
I remember driving in the car with him while he was singing. There is one songhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ that I will never forget because he loved to sing it. Every time I hear Seven Spanish Angels by Ray Charles and Willie Nelsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ, I can hear him singing. Of course, now I am unable to get through the song without crying because I miss him SO much.
I think one of the hardest things for me is, that I never got to say “goodbye”. I wanted to go visit him because I knew he was sick, but he did not want me to fly all that way to see him. I think he was trying to protect me because he did not want me to see him sick and suffering. It is so hard because the last image I have of him is when we went to his funeral. It is hard to get that image out of my mind because while it did look like him, that was not the man I remember. I am not sure he knew just how much I loved and admired him and that breaks my heart.
Out of everyone in my family, both my mother’s side and father’s side, my Poppy was my heart and soul. I idolized him and thought he would live forever. I will never forget when my uncle called me to tell me about Poppy passing away. The call caught me off guard for several reasons, one being that my uncle never calls me, but the other is because I could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. I could not understand how a man like my Poppy could be gone and I just wanted to see him again. I know someday, I will be reunited with my Poppy, and I just hope he will tell me that he is proud of the woman I had become.
In all honesty, I am thankful everyday that I had a grandfather as special as mine was. Everyone who knew him was lucky because he loved unconditionally and would do anything for those he cared about. Sadly, all his friends and family lost a magical and amazing human being nine years ago and will forever miss him. He touched so many lives and made a HUGE difference for so many.
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you have had a good week and you are ready for the weekend to begin. I know this was a sad post, which I am sorry to end the week this way. Unfortunately, I will have a heavy heart today because I do miss my Poppy. I hope he is looking down from Heaven and he is enjoying the best golf courses ever created and he is proud of who I am today. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Always, Alyssa
I find it amazing how a person can make what to them might be a simple comment, but the person hearing the words perceives it as one of the most remarkable compliments they have heard in a while. Today, I was messaging back and forth with my father. Indeed, my father and I do not talk much, but we have been messaging each other more often lately. Anyways, the words I read made me cry and not tears of sadness, but tears of pure joy. My father told me I get my temper, sense of humor (which at times might more of a sick sense of humor), my caring heart, and love for writing from my late grandfather, Poppy.
Poppy. He was a man with a heart and saw everyone equally. I don’t think this man knew hate of any kind. I think it is safe to say that in my eyes he could do NO wrong and pretty much hung the moon and stars.
Just knowing that some of who I am today is a result of someone I still love so much and idolize means more than words can ever begin to describe. I feel confident saying that anyone privileged enough to know my Poppy, would agree with me when I say he was one of the most caring, gracious, humble, generous, charismatic, thoughtful, dedicated, amazing, and loving people that has ever walked this earth. I know there are several other great ways to describe my Poppy, but I do not believe there is enough paper in the world to cover all the ways.
Through no fault of his own, until this say he was my favorite uncle, called to tell me that my Poppy had passed away. For a moment, all the air was completely sucked out of me. People were walking past me happily talking on their cellphone as if nothing had changed and their world was still spinning fine, when mine had just come to an incredibly abrupt stop. Through heartbreak and tears I kindly asked if anyone had notified my father yet. When he said my father was not contacted yet, I offered to be the one to call him.
since I had spoken to my father because of hurt and anger for missing my wedding. It was not ever going to be an easy conversation, but I wanted him to hear the devastating news from someone kind and emotional, not from social media. I did not think the loss of someone as special as my Poppy should ever hit social media first. I don’t know if this was with the help of the newest angel in Heaven or not, but while I was telling my father what happened he was also seeing it on Facebook. The picture above is many years old of my Poppy, father, and myself.
My beloved, strong, courageous, compassionate, and sarcastic Poppy fought against prostate cancer for too many months for a man as wonderful as him, but he did so with determination. During his battle he never once uttered the words, “Why me?”, instead he was thankful for his family, friends, other golf enthusiasts and colleagues at Country Club he spent decades at. This was a man that only counted his blessings in life and viewed the difficult times as a challenge, not a failure.
from my Poppy! 
I would really love 
Long before these troubling times we are witnessing currently, I found both the U.S Navy’s Blue Angels and the U.S Air force’s Thunderbirds to be completely breathtaking. I remember the first time I attended one of the Blue Angels airshows; I was not prepared for how powerful of an impact this show would have on my emotions. The abilities the pilots had were indescribable and left me speechless, which is saying a lot for me.
heard a thunderous earth vibrating sound coming from behind me. Right as I started turning around to see what was coming, six planes went past us with lightning speed. This might sound crazy but not only was the airshow amazing to watch, but I could also feel the power in my soul.
COVID-19 until the middle of May. Both the Air Force and Navy are working closely with local governments and media platforms to ensure all spectators are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for social distancing. The teams are executing numerous procedures to support the safety of personnel and the community.
performances due to the pandemic.
would have changed things, but there is no use in doing that because we will never know.
without you here
It’s been so long without you here
Fightmsdaily 