According to the age of my brother and color of my hair, the year must be about 1992. I would never have posted this photo, but it’s the only one I have of my grandfather. My grandparents are divorced since the 196o-ties and neither of them ever remarried.
My grandfather lived only an hour away, and he came driving his Ford Cortina down to our house every Christmas. When I was about 10 years old he took me in that same Cortina to stay with him for a week at his farm up in the northern woods of Älvdalen, just me and him.
Daytime we dried grass on a hay-rack for the cows to eat the upcoming winter. Nighttime we walked a small path through the deep woods and swam in a natural pond. One of the days I remember we watched the Wimbledon final and witnessed John McEnroe defeat Björn Borg. That summer in the early 1980-ies is about as close as we got.
With time I flew out from home. The winters got colder. Grandfather rather stayed at his house to keep the fire burning in his since long out of date heater, than drive his Cortina down for our Christmas dinners.
Last week my mother called and told me that my grandfather passed away in his sleep at the age of 91. I can’t say I really knew him well, and there are so many things I never asked and therefore never will know about my family. It does get too late to take that step you always felt you should have done already a long time ago.
But I do know one thing about my grandfather. As you read this he’s playing harmonica for the angels even though he never really could and it always sounded terrible. Or he’s taking care of some broken table that needed to be fixed.
Today his ashes were scattered for the winds in a memorial cemetery back in Sweden.
I was not there.
Stig Ryttar 1920-2011
// T.
3 kommentarer:
Tony, very touching post and a warning to us all: pick the day and make the most of getting to be around and knowing our close ones better once we get to an age to discuss seriously with them, even if circumstances have made them less than close. These people are part of our history. There is always something to do about it - we all have our own say in this whatever our families or situation may dictate. They may give us so much in terms of a view of where we came from, of days gone by, helping us to understand ourselves and the times we live in better even. But if you are truly interested in hearing about the/your past that you are part of too, do not leave it too long, for then before you know one day it will be too late, as you show us here, and it is alays sooner than we may realise and then our plans of contact will fall flat forever.
And if they are kind 'upstairs', they will have an old Ford Cortina standing by for granddad to tinker on and plenty of re-runs of Bjorn Borg's golden age in tennis..and maybe some opera?
Roelof
wow Tony, reading this turned me a bit sad, i can tell you i never got to know any of my grandparents.None of them.all them R.I.P , so i have a strong link with my parents, because family and friends is everything i have in this world, i´d feel completely alone without them. got to take advantage every time i have to share nice moments with them. Nice post Tony. Luis from Lima-Peru
sorry for some mistakes , i don´t know what i was thinking about. Luis.
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