79. My New Knife

My new knife isn't exactly a new knife. It's actually a pretty old knife, but it's new to me. It's one of my Grandpa Nish's old pocket knives. Grammy gave it to me on Christmas as a bit of a keepsake, and it means a lot to me. There's nothing flashy about it. To anybody else, it would just look like an old pocket knife. But for me it's a bit of a connection to my grandpa and who he was.

My Grandpa Nish died just a few days over 20 years ago, when I was 5. He had been battling diabetes and things had been bad for long enough that my best memories of him are from when I would visit him with my mom in long term care at the hospital. I do remember seeing him outside of the hospital as well, but he was always in a wheel chair (I even remember having a removable ramp at home to help him up onto the the deck when he would come out). But, my most vivid memories are at the hospital. Even then, I don't really remember a lot of what he was like as far as his personality and such, but I do remember that I loved visiting him.

I've heard a lot of stories about his earlier life. He was a great man. He was a hard worker and knew how to do things right. He was a bit of a tease (well, from the sounds of it, a really big tease). He loved to gather kids around and tell them stories. And, from the sounds of it, he wouldn't let you get away with any nonsense. Anyway, from all the stories that I've heard from various people, I've really grown to respect him and wish that I'd had a better chance to get to know him. This is why this simple pocket knife means so much to me.