My Dearest Caleb,
   
As you grow older you are probably going to forget about
Grandpa Conway.  When you are old enough to read and
understand this, I will give this letter to you…

I want you to remember…

Above everything else your grandpa loved you dearly.
He was always very gentle with you and gave you lots
of hugs and kisses.

I want you to remember…

That your grandpa liked to place you on his lap while
he read your children's books. He was always very
patient with you.

I want you to remember…

That grandpa was very, very concerned about your
safety while you were at his house.  He was so careful
that he drove grandma crazy some times.

I want you to remember…

That your grandpa looked forward to teaching you
how to play his favorite past-time: GOLF.  First you
would have received a "play" golf set.  I put play
in quotes because to grandpa, there was no such
thing as a play golf set.  All golf sets were serious!
Then he would have had you putting the ball into
grandma's drinking glasses in the living room.  You would
have graduated from there to going outside in the back
yard and hitting the ball around.  You would've had to
be very careful about hitting the ball into Farmer
Gary's bean field though.  Just ask your cousin
Jordan about "hurting" Gary's beans.  Finally
he would have taken you on the ultimate golfing
experience:  A trip to the world famous Turtle Greens
golf course run by Chuck and Linda Lucas just
outside of Clinton, WI.

Now grandpa was a very good golfer, but that's not
why everyone loved him there. No, they loved him
because he was a real person.  He was always
friendly, considerate, and helpful.  In fact, he was
even patient enough to try and teach a volleyball player
how to golf a couple of times.  Yes, sir, Caleb, your
grandpa Conway was well-loved by everyone he
knew, but especially by those he met at Turtle Greens.
He was not the best golfer there, but at Turtle Greens
he was king…

I want you to remember…

That your grandpa loved your mommy very much.
He even gave her a nickname that sticks with her today: 
"Noodles."  And nobody could say "Krissy" with more
love and affection than him. Your grandpa was the
one who gave me his blessing and permission to marry
your mommy.  I will tell you that story someday…It was
the longest afternoon of my life!

I want you to remember…

That your grandpa was very kind and giving to me.
I experienced many things in my life because he
cared enough to include me in them. I remember
duck hunting with him and experienced the most
breathtaking sunrise filled with innumerable
shades of orange and red, only to have my attention
stolen by huge flocks of mallards as they appeared
out of the painted mist that slowly rose from the surface
of the water on the mighty Mississippi.  We might
not have said a word to each other as the sun slowly
peeked her head over the misty water, but I have
never felt closer to him than I did on those trips.
He also took me Musky fishing in Northern Wisconsin
a time or two.  Although I didn't land one with him, I had the
big one that got away on my line.

I want you to remember…

Your grandpa's sense of humor.  He was a lot like
your "Uncle Steve," in that he was funny even when
he didn't know it.  There are hundreds of Grandpa
Conway stories we will tell you someday…

I want you to remember…

That your grandpa loved his family.  Especially Grandma.
It is hard to find two people who were more in love
with each other than your grandparents.  They were
great role-models for your Mommy and Daddy to follow.

I want you to remember…

That your Grandpa had a soft spot for animals.  Grandma
always said, "Never marry a man who isn't kind to
animals."  Your Grandpa would sneak outside
in the winter and make sure that "Momma Kitty",
the country stray, was warm and fed.  He was always
being gruff about the animals when people were around, but
when he thought they weren't looking, he was an old softy.

I want you to remember…

That your grandpa loved football.  He even played
semiprofessional football for the Delavan Red-Raiders.
He would have taught you a lot about the game.  I
guess Uncle Rick and I will have to do that now.  And
Caleb, I don't say this lightly, but if you grew up to
be a Green Bay Packer fan because of his
influence, that would have made him very proud.
And, although I won't admit this to anyone, it would
have made me proud too…

Now if you grow up to be a Democrat... we might
have some long discussions!

Most of all Caleb, I want you to remember…

That of all the people you will look up to in life,
including me, Grandpa Conway would have been
your role-model for the following things he taught me.

--Never Give Up

When Grandpa's first child was on the way he went
down to the local General Motors plant and applied
for a job but was told that they weren't hiring.  Your
grandpa went back every day for almost a month
before they got so tired of his daily visits that they
decided they did indeed have one opening.  He retired
from GM 28 years later and provided for his family
by working hard...and never giving up.

--Honesty is the best policy.

--Love your family with all your heart.

--Be kind to animals.  Especially when you think no
one is looking.

--Enjoy God's Great Outdoors!

--Be a REAL person.

--Don't worry about what people may think
of you.  Do what's right.

--Give everyone an equal chance.

--Travel and see the world.

--Learn to play golf.

--Take lots of pictures of yourself.

--When you hear a Grizzly bear growl, run as fast
as you can in the other direction, but don't turn your
video camera off, so that your family can enjoy the
moment with you later. (Actually Caleb, we know
that you are not supposed to run from a bear,
because he will think you are prey, but oh how
we laughed after seeing his video!)

--Fear wild bears sometimes but don't fear the
ones from Chicago.

--Don't ever let a kind word go unsaid.

Caleb, there is a whole "world" out there that you
might not experience now that your Grandpa is gone.
I know my life would be drastically different if your
Grandpa had not been in my life, but I will try my best
to teach you the life lessons and do the things that
grandpa would have done with you.

Whenever you hear a duck call, or a goose honk,
think of your Grandpa Conway.

"And God said, Let the water teem with living
creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth
across the expanse of the sky." Genesis 1:20

Grandpa loves you…and I do too.

Daddy

Michael T. Powers
HeartTouchers@aol.com

E-mail Michael and let him know what you thought of his story!

Copyright © 2000 by Michael T. Powers, All rights reserved

*****

Michael is happily married to his high school sweetheart Kristi
and has two boys.  He is the author of the book
Straight From the Heart and several of his stories have
been published, most notably, Chicken Soup for the Soul,
Alice Gray's Stories From the Heart series, God Allows
U-turns, and Heartwarmers.
      Michael is also the youth director at Faith Community Church
in Janesville, WI, owns a video production business, coaches
high school girls' sports, and is the founder of "Heart Touchers," a
free daily E-Zine on the Internet that features inspirational and
uplifting stories, often by published writers.  To subscribe
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  _
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\  /    HeartTouchers@aol.com  
/_/  \    "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no
\_\/\ \   longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I
  \_\/   live in the body I live for the Son of God, who    
           loved me and gave Himself for me."
           Galatians 2:20
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