Tonight marks the beginning of the end of what has become a nearly two-year election cycle. The Iowa caucuses took place tonight and as I draft this post, Ted Cruz of Canada has been declared the victor on the GOP side while the race between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont remains neck-to-neck on the Democratic side with Clinton maintaining an advantage of less than half of a percentage point. I could make the focus of this post politics, but there is plenty of time for punditry down the line instead I am going to speak about something more significant; my grandfather.
Today marks my grandfather's 85th birthday (that we are aware of) and as I sat on the couch across the room from him, I wondered about (1) would I make it to 85 and (2) would I want to make it to 85? I understand that in the grand scheme of the universe, 85 years is a speck of dust in comparison to the unfathomable expanse of time (and I am being incredibly generous). Regardless, I figured the answer to both of my questions would be a resounding NO! For starters, I am morbidly obese, suffer from gum disease, poor eyesight, poor hearing, and likely, suffer from undiagnosed diabetes. Of course, the aforementioned are only things that I am physically aware of and do not even include the mental frailties that reek havoc on my psychological health (e.g., depression). But, I have gotten side tracked and gone off on a tangent.
My grandfather, despite his current appearance, is an interesting individual. While he may only have 1.5 legs and dialysis tube protruding from his abdomen, his mind remains sharp and he is able to recall things that most people have long forgotten. On top of his remarkable memory, he remains sharp though his physical handicaps make it appear as though his mental faculties have diminished as demonstrated by his ability to maintain a witty rapport with his children and grandchildren. Anyways, I am at my limit for the day (time-wise), but my grandfather is an awesome individual and may he have many more birthdays after today.
