I have chosen to write about who has inspired me the most in my life, my Grandfather. As a child I have so many fond memories of summer BBQ’s and Christmas time. My Grandfather never set standards too high for anyone in my family. He was a kind and generous man and always loved to give before receiving anything at all. My Grandfather, never judged, at least not when any of the family was around. He always taught us to put family first and stay close to each other. My Grandfather was born and raised in Columbus Georgia. He was one of four kids in his family and they were very poor. He grew up in a time when there was no TV, air conditioning and the internet was far away from reality. My Grandfather told us stories how it was when he grew up. He lived in a small house down a dirt road and had to work on the farm with his siblings and mother. My Great Grandfather was a military man and had been sent home from war after an injury crippled his leg so everyone had to do their part. When my Grandfather was young he remembers when the Clansmen of the KKK would burn crosses across the river from his house and remembers his father participating in their rituals. My Grandfather was raised by racist parents but never understood. When my Grandfather was seventeen he enlisted himself into the NAVY during WWII. He wanted to not only make a life for himself but wanted to leave Georgia due to the protests, civil rights movements and wanted to see the world. After my Grandfather was done with his enlistment he was sent to Wallops Island, Virginia where he landed a job as an engineer for the NAVY and met my Grandmother. My Grandfather told so many stories about his time in the Pacific and all of us grandkids would listen to him, even if he told the same ones over and over. Christmas was never a disappointment because all of us had to have the best toys out there at the time and we were definitely spoiled. When you become a teenager you sometimes loose interest going to see your Grandparents, I never did. When I was bored I would go over to my Grandparents and talk about how school was, what bands I was listening too and what was going on in my life, my Grandfather was proud of me for being myself. I remember one year during Christmas I was just starting to date my current partner, I knew that my father had mentioned this too him but he never asked me or about
