Sale Pending

Haven't meant to be so quiet. But the aftermath of a passing is damn near all consuming.
Gramp has not been gone 2 months yet, but we've managed to get his house cleaned out and on the market. It's sale is even pending, and closing can happen any day now.

Of course you still have the daily demands of your own life to continue to contend with.
Doesn't leave much in the way of time for doing things like this.

But the clean out has uncovered many little tantalizing treasures. Aside from lost or forgotten photos, outdoor gear with names like Herters and Montague stand out. Yeah, I know these names don't exist now, but their company reputations sure live on. There will be more on these to come.

The old gun cabinet, with 4 of Gramp's Guns, and a fifth from my Uncle, has come my way. All are long guns. They are a .243, a 12 gauge, a .410 bore, and a pair of .22's. All deserve 1 or more future posts of their own.

All will get some much needed TLC before heading to the range.Of course now in post Sandy Hook Connecticut, you just can't go out and buy ammunition. I'm working my way through those hoops now.

I managed to track down the "lost" 12 foot fishing boat. Literally pulled it out of a nearby neighbor's barn! Suffice it to say I will be learning how to work fiberglass in the coming months.

I've also made some steady progress in a few other areas.

Late in the spring, I finally got a Connecticut Firearms Hunting license. Got the inland fishing combo with it.

Back in June, I completed an NRA Basic Pistol Course. I am still in the process of turning that into an actual Connecticut Pistol permit, but everything in it's time.

At the same time, I applied for a Curio & Relic FFL. Got that in the mail first week of July.
Of course, without a Connecticut Long Gun card or Connecticut Pistol permit, I can't do much with it yet. Being patient.

I will be sure to write about my experiences in regard to the permits too. Much is still so new here in Connecticut, and many questions are out there on these topics. I'll try to shed some light and share what I learn.

And of course, in this same time frame, I've stood this blog up too.

While some possessions have been gained, so much more of value has been lost. I miss Gramp everyday. The dark empty house and Sale Pending sign next door are just constant reminders of the void and loss his passing means. No matter how much you want to roll back the clock, you can't. You have to learn how to live without who and what you once had. And that is just not an easy thing to do.

Deconstructing a Life via Fun Times

Gramps was MUCH more than his guns. 

At various times over his 90 years, Grampa pursued archery, hunting, fishing, bowling and golfing. Of these, fishing stayed with him the longest. He fished up into his late 80's. When asked why he would not go anymore, he'd say his old fishing spots were being encroached upon. But I am certain his declining health was a factor too.

Grampa must have fished with all of us at some point, so it seems. He practiced the shore, boat, and ice varieties. He and his father even made the local paper back in the day (Jan. 6, 1953 to be exact), ice fishing one day. 

Fishing, in all it's forms, was unquestionably the outdoor interest where he had invested in the most gear. More on that later.

The true constant though with which he occupied much of his later years was woodworking. He had enough tools and gadgets for three people. Funny, because that worked out well for me, my brother and my Uncle. Good thing my dad didn't want any of it.

The volume of Gramp's wood projects, both finished and unfinished, is both impressive and problematic. What are we supposed to do with all of it? That too is for another time.

There were of course other smaller, shorter lived passions, like a stamp collection and a handful coins, which were noteworthy for only being old, but not for much else.

Where am I going with all of this? Well besides laying out future things I need and want to talk about, it is clear to me that the sum of all these parts still does not equal the whole man. The things left behind are mute testimony to an aspect of a life lived. Hopefully of a time, or times shared and enjoyed. 

An End & A Beginning

This is the first of what will be many posts.

18 days ago, I lost my Grandfather Earl. Grampa made it to his stated goal of 90 years old just 24 days before he died. His passing was peaceful, and I was among those there at his bedside at the end. I consider that a gift.

Earl was a fixture in my life for all of my 44 years. He and I loved each other dearly.

Grandma died in 2000, and over the past 14 years, many have watched out for Earl. When his sister Evelyn, my Aunt Babe, died in 2005, I had the chance to buy her home, which was right next door to Grampa. My wife, my stepson and I have lived here since 2007.

As my family begins the painful but necessary process of deconstructing the life lived in his now empty home, possessions, prized and not so prized, take on new significance. Connections lost, severed, or just forgotten, are renewed. Memories return and take on new meaning. Greater insight and understanding are gained. And new questions arise that you realize you may never answer.

All of it means something, if you stop long enough to feel and to think of how to find that meaning.

Me & Grampa Earl circa 1970

Grampa's life was meaningful to me and to many. Whatever follows here in these pages in the future somehow starts here at the end.