RIP Grandpa

My grandfather died today, age 88. I wasn't close with him, so I'm not terribly affected by it. He served in the military for a long time, so he paid his dues, but he was also a bad alcoholic, so we didn't really like him. Still, there are good memories here and there, so I felt like I should say something about the man.

One of my few fond memories of him was when I spent the night at his place, and he put a mark on his forearm and told me it was the curse of the werewolf, and stuck out his bottom teeth and acted like the wolf man.

As long as I've known him, he always seemed "old" to me, as in limited in comprehension and mobility. I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did. He'd been off the liquor for a few years now, but otherwise, he didn't do much, and lived in an old folks' home.

Sometimes when he'd been drinking, he'd sit at the table, morose, and tell me, "I coulda been somebody." I suppose he had a lot of regrets, because he wasn't well off, gambled a lot of his money away, and smoked like a fiend. Somehow, he lasted a while though.

I will give him an acting credit though: He played an extra in "Road to Perdition" in 2002, and got to meet Jude Law, and would always say how cool that guy was.

RIP Stanley James Stattner (1929-2017)