My Grandpa: Friend and Hero

Defined in the dictionary, grandfather means the father of a person's own father or mother. I believe it is much more than that. My grandpa is a friend and a hero. As I wrote this essay, I discovered what people meant when they said “You are just like your grandfather.” I will take that as the best compliment I will ever receive. If I could be like anyone in the world, it would be Robert Vhin; my hero, my friend, my grandpa.

Sitting in his rocking chair with his white hair brushed up to the front in a sort of Elvis like style, I admire this man. His wrinkles are deep from 88 years of laughter and smiles. You can almost read the history in his face. He raises his eyebrows just a tad when he smiles. His dimples slightly show around his smile which leans to the right. His eyebrows look like a game of gray Pick-Up-Sticks, unkempt and overlapping one another. His eyes are set deep and he has very few eyelashes. His eyes are the color of brackish water and often change between brown and green depending on his mood or how the sunlight hits them. His ears are larger than average which does not seem to help him hear any better. The hearing aids he wears are the same color as his skin. His skin is tan from sitting outside during the day. Touching his skin reminds one of sandpaper because of the rough texture from the cement warts and moles that cover his body.

The slender frail body he walks in looks as if it is ready to break. His thin unsteady legs are no longer able to carry him so he uses a sliver walker. His belly is big and round much like a starving Ethiopian child’s. However, his appetite is healthy and robust. Prickly black and gray hairs are beginning to grow around his neck, out of his ears, and out of his nose. His nose ...

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...s still down for anything. I love dancing with him in the living room. His smile and laugh makes it one of my favorite things to do. I love holding his hand walking through a restaurant as he makes fun of the lady’s hair in front of us. His bad habit of making fun of others has, indeed, rubbed off on me. Even when he is not feeling well and in an extended hospital stay, I like to sit with him and watch him flirt with the nurses and make them laugh. His positive attitude often makes bad situations more tolerable. Grandpa is willing to talk to anyone but more importantly, he will listen.

Everyone who meets him adores him. He brings happiness and hope to everybody around him. I am proud to say this man is my Grandpa and I dream of being at least half the great person he is. There is not a single quality about him I do not respect. I admire everything about this man.