Grandpa Carl

When my grandmother graduated high school, she wanted to move out of her parents' house but didn't have enough money for college and didn't have a boyfriend to marry her. So, one of her friends said "Well, I'll marry you." They had never even kissed, but she agreed, and that's how she and my grandfather met (from whom she is currently divorced, and he is remarried to a Japanese woman and living in Thailand). Twice a year, Grandpa Carl comes back to the US and visits a couple of his kids.

Apparently, it's that time of year, and today he came up to Petaluma to visit my grandmother and me and make sure that our life philosophies are creative and healthy and that we are doing well. He had cut off his ponytail since his last visit and has started to grow a beard. Also, he survived bladder cancer and now has an external bladder which he is quick to show off and make jokes about. As in, "I'm a 1938 Carl, and some parts have had to be replaced."

To avoid any legality issues, I'm going to point out that there is emphasis in my blog, and it is partially embellished/fictional.

Last week, Grammy went out to the coast to visit some friends and returned with a pound of marijuana. She has been practically losing sleep wondering how she's going to get rid of it since she doesn't smoke enough to burn through an entire pound, and does not have friends who smoke she can give it away to. Luckily, my grandfather is visiting and she was hoping to pawn some off on him, as they spent their earlier years tripping on acid together and were caught smoking pot in my parents' basement when I was in elementary school during Thanksgiving dinner. My mother was not pleased.

While here, my grandfather sat around the house with us for a couple hours and at one point he and my grandmother were talking about how old they were, and how they are coping with dying. My grandfather even referenced Tuesdays With Morrie, a New York Times bestseller which I have read but mostly write off as cheesy and unrealistic, only interesting because it is one of the only pieces of popular literature that deals with death. It's interesting for me to think that these people have known each other since high school, and have gone through almost an entire life - partially together - and can still sit down and check up on each other even though they are both remarried (or redivorced in Grammy's case).

Grandpa Carl usually crosses a comfort line to some extent, at the dinner table referencing a grandchild's sex life or asking a high school aged family member about which drugs are available to him through his immediate group of friends. Granted, the visit isn't over yet and we still are going to see a movie with my mother tonight, but so far the first portion of this visit was pleasant and thought-provoking and much more comfortable than usual.