"my grandfather died peacefully earlier this week"
he was a very strong man. my family is strong and his passing is making us stronger. his story is a version of the american dream. his parents came from poland aged 17, knowing no one and without english. he was the youngest of 8 and the only one to graduate college. he put himself through high school and the university of buffalo working summers putting bumpers on cadillacs in detroit. he was a pharmacist. he owned and operated a pharmacy in my mother's hometown for over 30 years. he will be missed. fiercely intelligent and combative til after thanksgiving when he slowed down and began speaking in a whisper. he waited for my cousin to come home and died peacefully with my aunt and cousin while petting his beloved dog repeating the words thank you over and over.