Alan, Aldo, Al, Big Red, BX King, Poppi. Many monikers for one simple guy: my grandfather.
He is one crazy guy. He didn't go to college- actually, barely went to high school. He also grew up in a rough time in rough conditions. He picked fights, got kicked out of school, went to the army, etc. His education is shown in his personality. He prides himself on knowing how to say, "Can I have a beer?" in German.
Somehow, my grandmother, Alice, found love within him and they went to live off in Plainview, New York and later Boynton Beach, Florida. Now, Poppi is one inspirational guy.
Through varying cancers, tough working conditions, and a hard time growing up he really brings light to the world. When I moved to Florida from Pennsylvania, I didn't really appreciate the fact that they lived so close to me.
As I grew older, probably around ten years old, I understood how awesome it was to be around them constantly. My Poppi would take us to the Norton Museum of Art, and give us spelling quizzes in the car, not knowing the answers himself, but asking anyways and just saying we were correct to boost our confidence. He would take us to nature reserves, and the Soup Kitchen to volunteer.
Sometimes I thought it was such a drag to do all these things with him. Naïvety got the best of me. It took me a very long time to realize all my Poppi wanted to do for me was to educate. He never got the chance to learn in school or earn a degree, and he was damned if he didn't make the effort to teach my triplet brothers and I about anything he thought we needed to be successful in life.
The Museum was to teach us of culture, the spelling quizzes to improve our grammar, the nature reserves to inform us on the environment, and the Soup Kitchen to be caring and respectable. The one day I knew he figured out that what he did was worth it was when the three of us signed those deposits to go to the University of Florida.
Thank you Poppi for those days of learning and instruction. You outweigh any school, instructor, and textbook. I will always be forever grateful for you.
