A WONDERFUL GRANDPA

a tribute to my father in law, much loved and sorely missed, russell coulter

A WONDERFUL GRANDPA

as luck would have it
since not all grandfathers
are of the warm and caring nature
we have been blessed
with a fine funny and unique old man
a gift from the universe unmatched and welcome...

an old metal “junky”
with a constant companion dog
he never threw anything away
( example # 1...150 dead hot water heaters as a forest on his high plains desert ranch)
if and odd out of circulation nut or bolt was needed
he always had it somewhere at hand
while our generation seems ruled by “duck” tape fixing and repair
grandpa russ fixed it
and held it together for us all
with bailing wire and bubble gum
always driving a beat up old pickup that
seemed to breakdown on every run
but he could always patch it together and get us home safe
he passed just a year before one son
as if to say
don’t worry kids
i’ll guide the way...

we see him reflected in the universe’s eyes
sitting in his bailing wire bubble gum truck
with duchess and fang,
listening to hank williams and jimmy rodgers
and reciting robert service with the elegance of a circus clown pro
oh lord, we miss him so...

Author's Note

this wonderful man considered me to be the best thing that ever happened to his son..i was so very blessed to have known him...

Reviews

[JayceeC]

It sounds like you had a great relationship with him. Not all open their hearts so readily, when you have one that welcomes you with open arms you appreciate it and it's nice to have them for a while.to teach your children those things that grandpas do.

[jeannemarie coulter]

thank you so much...the pic is russ with his first 5 grandchildren...my daughter was his 6th and was not born yet...

[JayceeC]

You can tell he loves children, and they love him. This is a beautiful picture. Hope you have some of them together also, but it's a miracle that all of them stayed still long enough to get the shot.

[dan]

For every story there is about bad in-laws there are as many untold stories like yours of a wonderful mother/father/brother/sister in-law that smothers the negativity emanating from the bad stories. You indicate that you were quite close to your husband's dad, and I am assuming that your spouse is the one son who passed a year after he did. I'm happy to say I shed a few tears after reading this; it just shows that I'm human. take care...dan

[Robert]

I only had one Grandpa living while I was young and this piece made me remember him. Nice to know you had one that you thought so fondly of that you wrote this tribute to him. I really enjoyed reading this piece, thank you for sharing.

[Emily]

What a great poem!!
Well done!
Keep it up!

[daninstockholm]

Sounds like a very cool guy! And that you had a great relationship with him. A well written and heartfelt tribute. Well done!!

BTW, I'm sorry to have taken so long to respond to your read requests, I've been in the country with limited access.

One more thing, I see you're from Aumsville,, that's cool,, a charming place, I grew up in Portland, moving to Stockholm about 9 years ago.

[jeannemarie coulter]

thank you...i have only been in aumsville for 6 mo..but is was born in fix hollow oregon

[Cherry Pepperweb]

Very touching tribute. Some times people come along and enrich our lives so much.

[Gee]

What a lovely heart warming write....

[Amber Lily]

Very sweet, I can tell that he is being missed. I am one of those people who seem to think duck tape and super glue is the solution to everything, people like me need people like your grandfather to teach us how to really fix things, or the future will be a world of hurt! A great poem :)

[Willard Wells]

Sounds like a man that I would have enjoyed listening too, telling some tall tales and lively stories of his life. Well done and a beautiful tribute.

[jeannemarie coulter]

he was a fine teller of tales, perhaps the best teller from my husbands family...

[jeannemarie coulter]

my thanks to everyone who read this...he considered me to be the best thing that ever happened to his son...i was so blessed to have known him...