One of my very best friends turns 90 today; Grandpa Hales.
Let me tell you about this amazing man. He's a World War II Veteran. When I was little, Grandpa told me he did paperwork in the war. That's not true. He was out in the action. I never knew about any of this until around Christmas time and Brent and I went to visit my grandparents. Since Brent's in the military too, Grandpa opened up a lot to him and I heard stories that I'd never heard before, like the fact that Grandpa had a sniper firing at him...he still remembers the whistling. He sang in a famous opera house in Italy. If I remember right, Grandpa was infantry. He's an American hero...and mine.
Grandpa doesn't have half of his left thumb. When I was little he would always tell me that it was caused by picking his nose too much. I always wondered how he got his thumb up there...But the truth is, Grandpa was leading a horse in the car. The horse went one way and the car went the other. The rope wrapped around his thumb.
Grandpa used to drink coffee. He would always tell us that drinking coffee made his knees go black. He doesn't drink coffee anymore.
Grandpa has a belly. I would always help him do his "tummy exercises" to help him get skinnier. I would push his tummy in and then let it fall back out. I thought I was being a great help...turns out he was just sucking in every time I did it. Well...A for effort :)
He is the BEST gardener in the world. He would always get a BIG bucket of peas, corn, tomatoes, etc. I would only eat Grandpa's peas right after they'd come out of the garden. Otherwise, I hated peas. We would sit on the back porch and eat peas, drink Diet Cokes, and watch Grandma's hummingbirds.
Let me tell you about this amazing man. He's a World War II Veteran. When I was little, Grandpa told me he did paperwork in the war. That's not true. He was out in the action. I never knew about any of this until around Christmas time and Brent and I went to visit my grandparents. Since Brent's in the military too, Grandpa opened up a lot to him and I heard stories that I'd never heard before, like the fact that Grandpa had a sniper firing at him...he still remembers the whistling. He sang in a famous opera house in Italy. If I remember right, Grandpa was infantry. He's an American hero...and mine.
Grandpa doesn't have half of his left thumb. When I was little he would always tell me that it was caused by picking his nose too much. I always wondered how he got his thumb up there...But the truth is, Grandpa was leading a horse in the car. The horse went one way and the car went the other. The rope wrapped around his thumb.
Grandpa used to drink coffee. He would always tell us that drinking coffee made his knees go black. He doesn't drink coffee anymore.
Grandpa has a belly. I would always help him do his "tummy exercises" to help him get skinnier. I would push his tummy in and then let it fall back out. I thought I was being a great help...turns out he was just sucking in every time I did it. Well...A for effort :)
He is the BEST gardener in the world. He would always get a BIG bucket of peas, corn, tomatoes, etc. I would only eat Grandpa's peas right after they'd come out of the garden. Otherwise, I hated peas. We would sit on the back porch and eat peas, drink Diet Cokes, and watch Grandma's hummingbirds.
In my grandparents' family room, my Grandma and Grandpa both have their "chairs." If ever you couldn't find Grandpa out in the garden, mowing their lawn with his push mower (which he still uses...it's SO heavy!), in his chair in the kitchen by the window, or downstairs watching a movie, he was in his chair...asleep.
Grandpa LOVES the Gospel. He loves reading books about it, and going to church. He was there for Brent and I in the temple. He's given me many Priesthood Blessings when my dad or brothers weren't around at the time and I needed one pronto. I mean, he only lived a block away. It was awesome.
The number one thing I love about this amazing man (even though there's a million other reasons! And if you ever get offered to try his ebleskievers-a Danish treat, take him up on it) is that he loves my Grandma unconditionally. When Grandpa was off in the war, his sister wrote him and told him that a family of girls just moved into town. Grandpa wrote back and told her to "save one for him!" She did. Grandma can't go as strong as Grandpa throughout the day. She's had a lot of health problems. But Grandpa is ALWAYS there at the hospital with her. I would sleep in between them when I was little and had sleepovers with them and Grandpa would always lean over and kiss Grandma goodnight. He takes care of her. He loves her. She loves him. We all love him.Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa! I love you so much! Thank you for being the man you are!
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