Grandpa Rusty

Have I ever told you about my grandpa?

Well first off let me tell you the inspiration for this blog. Last night I was holed up at home trying to relax. There was a knock at my door. It was a friend of mine and her three kids. She was running from an abusive relationship from the two youngest kids' father. I let her sit and figure out what she was going to do because I had no room. She called the grandfather of the oldest girl and he came right over to see the granddaughter he never gets to see.

When she saw her grandpa, her eyes lit up and she jumped into his arms. He sat and visited for a minute and held her the whole time. She was smiling, looking at him with love in her eyes like he could take on te New York Giants himself. I watched them with adoration in my eyes and remembered...

My grandpa was actually my mom's step dad. He babysat my brother and I while my parents both worked. I would watch from my counter height view as he would whip me up "panty cakes" and eggs and bacon. He would sing old standards the whole time he was cooking. He would go out and kill a meal,bring it home and butcher it all while I watched. My grandpa would sit under shade behind the house with another Korean War Vet, Melvin and they would drink wine and sing old military songs. My grandpa could take on the world. My grandpa was a retired BIA cop from another reservation, yet he worked and made his life here on the toughest reservation. My grandpa had blue eyes and red hair and was known as Rusty, yet he was fluent in Lakota. He told me stories of giant animals and little people. My grandpa started my passion for antique glass hunting. Whether we was in an abandoned farm house or second hand store. He had a huge part in making me the woman I am today, started me on many of passions in life: cooking, nature, standards, antiques and just an overall appreciation for life and respect for others.

He conquered the world in my eyes, because he was the best.

A wonderful and positive male role model and influence for me early in life.

I miss him.

This is for him.