Attention, GRAND readers: You’re invited to contribute your anecdotes & reminiscences. See details below.
Pop-Pop: A Grand for All Ages
By Amanda Koehler
My Pop-Pop called me this week. “So, my girlfriend is pregnant,” he said, sighing.” But I’m not the father!” That “girlfriend” he was talking about is Jersey Shore’s “Snooki.”
My Pop-Pop is 83 years old, but when I talk to him, he’ll freely discuss Snooki, Lady Gaga or Charlie Sheen. In that way and many others, he’s no ordinary grandpa. He still goes to work six days a week at the auto body shop he owns. He goes to the casino at 4:30 a.m. every Sunday. He goes dancing (and has won jitterbug contests), bowling and golfing. He has a Yuengling lager and a Hershey chocolate bar every night as a snack. My oldest memory of him is us driving around in his car, blasting his favorite song: “I Like to Move It” by Reel 2 Real.
Not only is my Pop-Pop hilarious and fun, but he has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. He loves all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, especially the babies. You can find him at any family function on the sofa, cradling the newest addition to the Koehler family. He has dressed up as Santa on Christmas for his grandkids (even though his raspy Santa voice was a little scary). And he even took in my sister when she had nowhere else to go.
Whether he’s working hard at his shop or throwing out the first pitch at a local farm baseball team’s game for his 80th birthday, Pop-Pop is a man that people of all ages can admire.
Amanda Koehler is a full-time editor and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in ADVANCE newsmagazines, Patch.com, Beliefnet and a recent Chicken Soup for the Soul book.
You’re invited! — to contribute reminiscences and anecdotes about your grandparents (300 words or less). Our editors will select some submissions to publish in GRAND Magazine; on grandmagazine.com; or on mywell-being.com, our sponsor’s website. Submit to GRAND by email here.
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