Growing Up Geek: My Grandpa Was a Huge Influence in My Life
Earlier this morning, I learned my grandpa passed away. I was lucky enough to be in town visiting family and to be able to spend some time with him last night before he passed. My grandpa and I were incredibly close — he was my best friend for the longest time. I spent a lot of my childhood with him and they were some of the most fun and memorable times of my life. I’m completely overwhelmed with grief and every time I think about the times we spent together, I just break down and cry.
My grandpa’s name is Leo Paur, and he’s one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. He’s one of my heroes. He served in the Army in World War II and spent a lot of his time in the Pacific. He even served as part of the security detail for Bob Hope when he was on his WWII tour in the South Pacific.
I’ve heard stories from my dad and his sibling about how much of a hard worker my grandpa was and how he sacrificed so much to provide for his family. He worked as a construction worker, and even in his retirement years, which is when I got to spend most of my time with him, I always saw him working on something.
I loved going to the movies with my grandpa. He would take my cousin Derek and I all the time and he would gladly take us to the same movies multiple times. Two films I remember seeing over and over again with him are The Gate and Ernest Goes to Camp. We saw those two movies in the theater so many times!
He would also always take me to a cafe for breakfast. I would also get a chocolate donut with hot chocolate and then spend the rest of my time talking to him and playing Pac-Man while he ate his breakfast and talked with his friends. I always liked it when he would stand behind me and watch me play Pac-Man because I liked showing off how good I was.
Of course, it was always awesome when he would take us to the toy store and buy us G.I. Joe action figures! He never got mad at us when we went into his back yard to shoot them up with my BB gun. It was later on in life when I got mad at myself for doing such a stupid thing! I miss my G.I. Joes, but I’m going to miss my grandpa so much more.
One of my all-time favorite things to do with my grandpa was when he would take us to a little town in Utah called Helper. This was a coal mining town that my grandpa grew up in. It's the town where my family began its American journey. He would tell us about his childhood there, what it was like growing up and working in the coal mines. One time a mine caved in on him and broke his back. He almost died, but managed to push through it and live a long life. He would take us out to explore the town and the coal mines where he worked. We did this a few times when I was a kid and it’s something my family and I still enjoy doing on rare occasions. Just by chance, my brothers and I just happened to go up there this past weekend to relieve the memories. We had no idea my grandpa would pass away a few days later.
He was just one of the most selfless and kindest manly men that I knew and he taught me many important values of life. Hard work and honesty are two things that immediately come to my mind. He always talked to me about hard work and I spent a lot of time helping him out on certain projects around the house.
One of the biggest life changing experiences with my grandpa came when I was five years old. He took me to the store one morning to get some food. I remember I wanted some grape Bubble Yum Bubble Gum, so I took it and shoved it in my pocket. I stole a pack of gum and when we were in the car I jumped into the back seat and started to devour it all. I shoved more than half of that gum in my mouth before my grandpa smelled it, pulled over the car and asked where I got the gum. After I told him I took it from the store he immediately turned the car around and headed back. I’ll never forget the disappointment he had in me as he talked to me about stealing and how it is wrong, how lying is wrong, and that we have to strive to be honest in this world. He gave me a dollar and walked me back into the store where I apologized to the manager and paid for the gum. I will never forget that moment. Every time in my life where I’ve been tempted to be dishonest about something, I always think of that moment and choose to take the right path.
I love my grandpa with all of my heart. I’m so sad that he died, but he left a powerful legacy behind him. I’m going to miss him so much, but I believe that he’s in a better place now and that I’ll see him again one day.