gone

GG's gone, but not forgotten.

Hospice cleaned her up... and quite frankly made her look dead. Before, she just looked asleep, at peace. But of course, she was in a curled-up sleeping position on her side... with rigor mortise, that probably would have been bad for when the mortuary came for transport.

Grandma B is doing well. Her brothers in town are a very good thing. It's good that she finally called Wally on Sunday.

The mortuary took her away yesterday afternoon.

Jack took it fairly well... we talked for a long time about missing people (Jack was jealous that he only had GG for 9 years but Kyle had her for 14... didn't have the heart to tell him that the nine years he got weren't her best). We talked some about Scotty, GG's husband, and how both boys would have loved him. All in all, he took it well.

Kyle took it fine as well. He had gone over with Lisa the night before to say goodbye, so he was prepared... well, as prepared as a 14 year-old can be.

Yesterday, we looked at the scrapbook Lisa had put together for GG's 80th birthday, nearly 11 years ago. It was great to see her smile, her big open winning smile.

Better yet was a two-page spread late in the book, with pictures of GG's wild life... "A wild horse of a woman" was the title, taken--I think--from a Sandra Cisneros piece. That she was. The pictures covered good times from the 30s through the 80s and they were crazy. Dressed as a beer can for Halloween. Laughing over a beer bottle that had a cock's head nipple on it. The legendary picture of her at Pt. Mugu standing next to her racing dirtbike.

On the way back from picking up Kyle from practice at Rio, I shared with him the bawdiness of the old badass broad: in her bathroom down in Santa Monica, the light-switch cover was a picture of a guy in his garage workshop, holding a book that read "Do It Yourself"... only his pants were at his ankles, and his dick was the light switch... so every time you turned on or off the light... you were doing it (him) yourself. I'm sure it mortified Lisa as a girl... but, man, on my first visit to meet her grandparents? Well, let's just say, I don't often laugh in someone's bathroom, but that sure put me to ease... what a bawdy old lady.

And on that ride home from Rio, he played songs to fit the moment. "And the Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'" ... he knew that GG's name was Matilda. "The Body of the American" perfect. "Ida Called You Woody, Joe" a tribute to someone loved and respected who has passed. And then as we neared the house, "The '59 Sound"... I slowed to make sure we heard it all. I know what would have been next: Joey Ramone's version of "What a Wonderful World."

Thank goodness there wasn't time. I was already crying, and I wouldn't have been able to see the road if I had heard that great great song.

I'm listening to it now, though... and while my eyes are wet, I'm smiling.

I think that's how GG would have wanted it.