for Pap

both of my grandfathers were called George. both were great men, but this is the only one i knew in person and i was his only granddaughter. yesterday my grandmother wept on my shoulder. he married her when she was sixteen. he served in World War II. he worked in the coal mines. he worked building the local infrastructure. he volunteered with the fire department for 29 years. he was the fire chief. he was town mayor. he had a carpentry shop in his cellar. he mowed the grass at the town park. he tended his garden. the last week of his life, all of his children were in his house with him, the house they grew up in.