It has been an eventful day. In order of importance, we have a snowstorm that has already dropped five inches and is just starting to slow down; Johann cut two teeth in the last twenty-four hours; and I found out my grandfather died. Robert Earl Fales, I don’t know when he was born precisely, except that it was in the Thirties. I remember him from my childhood, mostly his voice, and his smile. It was his sense of humor that plays a large part in my memories of him. I regret not knowing him better as I grew into adulthood.
I have a vivid memory of him driving the dozer to plow the driveway, with my little cousin Jeffery sitting in his lap, helping to work the controls and both of them delighted with it. I remember hearing him talk with my dad and telling tall tales for hours. I used to sit and listen to them as long as I was allowed. I think it was Grampa that told me with great relish that if you threw a body into the Tanana the silt and pebbles that made it look muddy would grind the body up, and you’d never find it. I remember that story!
I wish the girls had known him. I’m glad that he knew of them, at least. I want his great-grandchildren to carry on in that no-nonsense, pioneer spirit that he personifed to me along with my Grandma Lavaughan and Grandma Ella. He always seemed to be a storng man, but quick to laugh. I want to say goodbye…
Maybe just goodnight, and God Bless.
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One response to “Eulogy for a Giant”
Cedar’s grandfather, Robert Earl Fales, was my father, and I loved him very much. Even though he and my mother divorced when I was twelve, he was always a constant presence in our lives, and we always knew that he really cared about us. I remember him coming to our house when Cedar and Maranatha were toddlers, and they would greet him with excited cries of “Grandpa! Grandpa! Read to us!” and pretty soon he’d be sitting on the sofa with a little girl on each side, reading one of their story books aloud to them — and all of them pleased as punch about it!