As we get older some things in our memories fade. But nothing has ever faded for me in the memories of my grandpa.
For as long as I can remember, my grandpa was always white-haired and had what I call "the crown of baldness", where the hair actually encircles the head all the way around but the very top of his head is completely bald! It looked as if he were wearing a crown of sorts. He was a very skinny man whose body was made up of mostly legs, and boy could he ever walk! It was tough as a little one to keep up with him. He was a very stern man. Sometimes he would scare my brothers and me because of his stern attitude, but we loved him so. Because you see, he was a secret elf! He was just like us, he was a kid inside! He and his parents came from Germany and they had nothing. He was extremely artistic. When he was old enough to work he became a wood carver, and upholsterer for the Marshall Fields and Company stores. He continued to transcend his art into everything he did in life. He played many musical instruments; most notably the piano, and the violin. He drew,he painted, he carved,and he built things. He painted beautifully. He did an entire wall mural in his basement of Custer's Last Stand. He once built a roller coaster in that same basement for all his grandchildren. We all rode it for hours and hours! Sheer joy and amazement, it was such a blast!
As he got older and the grandchildren all got older, he scaled down the height and bigness of things. My grandpa had a "studio" located in one of the extra bedrooms of his house. Every once in a while, he'd give us a "peek" at something he would be working on. He had a great level of activity, he was always working on something. In fact although he had been retired from his regular employment, he would work at the local roller rink. He walked everyday to the roller rink and there he would repair skate wheels,and the leather shoe boots. He just loved it. Soon, however, the popularity of skating fell off, and they let the self-made cobbler go. I think he was just crushed. He continued to stay active by reinventing himself. He bagan to repair violins, and even making them. He was reported on several times in his local newspapers! He was also making three foot high dollhouses. The interiors made of wood. There were hand carved staircases, bathtubs,toilets, and even fancy wood floors. He made things come to life! It was probably some of the finest work I have seen to this day. All of these things I still have today.
One day my brothers were out in his garden playing, when he called me to"peek" in the "studio"! My heart pounded. I was excited. He pulled open the door and told me not to tell anyone. For on his table lined up were probably twenty ships in a bottle! They were beautiful. There were so many, I knew that each of us would be getting one. I looked at him and he was crying. But it was silent and he smiled at me and he closed the door. I remember saying that I loved them. He smiled and said don't tell. It was shortly after that, that he passed away. I never did receive that ship in a bottle, but what I did get was that he loved each and every one of us. And when he died he knew that I loved him back. My grandpa became very sick, it caused him to be mean. And that's what everyone else remembers. But my heart is full of other memories. Memories that only an elf could imagine!