Vale and RIP to my grandfather
I've been deployed for the government before, but I managed to avoid losing a family member while overseas until now. Damn, it's hard to not be able to get back for the service.
My grandfather was an amazing man. He built radio telescopes. He taught me Arabic, Swahili, and Bengali (though my Bengali wife has since corrected his pronunciation).
He had a picture in his living room of a huge radio telescope in Uganda and the news of its completion being delivered by a tribal bard beating a drum to the nearby bards. Two binary codecs existing at once.
He told me once about his trip to Giza where he got on the camel ("for free", the man said) and rode to the pyramids, and then when he got back on he was told "sir, the ride out here is free.... to get back, well the camels eat this very expensive alfalfa..."
He taught me how to sing, how to recite Robert Burns and Rudyard Kipling, how to say "Cheers!" or its equivalent in 12 languages, and to never trust anyone farther than he could be thrown. He taught me how to play Russian Bank, how to shoot a pistol and rifle, and how to deal with adversity ("Son, you seem to look down. Was it a woman? Don't worry... the calendar will heal all your wounds."
He had an unrepressable wanderlust, and God knows the frequent flyer miles are free now.
I miss you, Grandpa. I hope you're wandering wherever your whim takes you.
= new reply since forum marked as read
