College Admissions Essay: I Miss You Grandpa

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I miss you Grandpa



I remember spending summers in Kansas with Grandpa. I grew up in the suburbs - spending summers in Kansas was a bit of culture shock.



I remember waking up early and sitting around the kitchen table and listening while Grandpa and my mom sipped coffee and talked. The Hutch paper was always spread across the table, and inevitably, the conversation would turn to me.



"He probably fails all his classes, don't he?" Grandpa would ask. A slow smile would spread across his aging face as his gaze shifted from my mom to me.

"I don't think so, Grandpa," I'd respond, partially knowing he was joking, and partially wanting to prove myself. Then he'd lean back in his chair and look up at the ceiling.

"No, you're a good kid. You're a good kid." He'd say quietly. He'd comment on a story I'd written, the …show more content…

I gotta entertain the little turds for a couple of weeks." That was Grandpa.



Later we'd end up at Ike's Windmill and Farm Supply. Grandpa would drink more coffee, smoke a Marlboro, and joke with Geno and Ike, and whoever happened to come through the door.



I remember trips to the Fish Gas Station, when Grandpa would treat my brother and I to a candy bar and a pop. I still remember sitting in the duck taped chairs in the old Fish station, listening to Grandpa trade stories with Charlie Fish and the few customers who passed through.



I remember trips to the Alden café, where I ordered Chicken strips and a Coke, and Grandpa would always take the leftovers home to the dog.



I remember driving the tractor in circles in the field, joyful entertainment for a city boy.



And I remember Grandpa teaching me to drive when I was 10, my white-knuckled hands gripping the wheel of the '79 Ford pickup like we were going to die. Meanwhile Grandpa was pulling at his faded blue jeans, gazing off into the distance.

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