Poppy

Yesterday I got some awful news. It was that my beautiful, energetic, sprightly, absolutely hilarious grandfather is not doing very well at all.
The bond between granddaughter and grandfather is a special one, he told me all the secrets.
My Poppy Ray is a very funny man. I have a classic photograph of him in his back yard that must have been taken when he was my age. In the photo he is standing on a horse and he has a budgerigar on the top of his head. I also have another photo of him from the early 90's when I was about 7. We are in my old living room and we both have toilet paper shoved in our tee-shirts and are sticking our chests out. If memory serves me I think we are wearing lip stick.
There is another photo taken last year. Poppy and I were forced to sit in the back of my Mum's two door lancer and when we were folding ourselves out from the car he pretended to fall over and then started hopping around on his bent legs making frog noises.
What a man!

Poppy enjoys eating half a raw onion and half an ice berg lettuce with black pepper.
One in each hand, in front of the TV munching away at first the onion and then the lettuce to cool things down.

He is very odd.

Pop will always fall asleep in front of the TV.
I would sneak and get the remote and hide behind the couch. Then I would change the channel or make it really loud and try not to laugh when he got all rilled up and abused the television. (insert old man babble here).
Once he fell asleep again I would sneak the remote back to the couch arm and he would snort and grab me right at the last minute. Scared me to death.
Anyway I just love him to the moon and back. And these are just some of the things that I cherish.

I wish I could take it away for you Pop.
But I cannot.
So to cancer we say this.




You taught me well.
I love you xxx