Grandpa Ernest

On September 11, 2001, America went through a great tragedy. Everybody knows what it is, so I’m not going to go through it. This year, on the anniversary of 9/11, my family went through a different hardship. Our beloved grandfather/father/husband/brother died after battling kidney failure.

Although we did not want him to go, we know it’s for the best. We know he was struggling and couldn’t see. He was 77.

Ernest was my grandfather, along with my sisters, and my mom’s dad. He was a huge Idaho Vandals fan and loved to wear his Vandal hat when dad was around, just because dad didn’t like the Vandals.

One memory I remember is Grandpa taking me into Grandma’s sewing room and going into the closet, and getting his Vandals hat, putting it on his head, and walking around the house with it. Dad would shake his head every time he saw him.

There are so many memories with Grandpa; it’s hard to choose which one is my favorite. I’m glad I have photos of him and me together, though. I will never forgot Grandpa, his legacy will live on. When people see me eating noodles, they say that I eat it the same way Grandpa did. I put it above my head, put the noodles in my mouth, twirl the fork, and chew. It’s a very weird way of eating noodles, but it’s the way I’ve always eaten noodles. I know that Grandpa will be watching over us and going through everything with us; when Megan and Shelby finally get married, when I graduate high school, when Whitney begins her first few years of teenage-hood, and when Cousin Amelia begins school and starts chatting up a storm. He’ll be there when Mom graduates from college and when everybody goes through life challenges.