Today is my Pappa's birthday! So this is my ode to him. He gave me my first hair cut... and always gave me dimes and bubble gum for sweeping his barber shop! I loved hanging out there, and playing with the air blowers, and sitting in the chairs and watching all the people come in to get their hair cut.
My Pappa and Icee used to go on vacations with us... My parents put me on this awful, disgusting, traumatizing gluten-free diet right before we left for a family road trip to Yellowstone. So basically, I ate nothing all week. Well, the only thing I remember eating the entire time, every meal, was a turkey sandwich, with homemade waffles that my Icee had made. But my Pappa would sneak me bites of ice cream when all of my younger siblings and both parents got their own cones, but I couldn't have any. Man those memories are vivid. That diet didn't last long.
When we would go on vacations, each adult would hold the hand of a child... I always held my Pappa's hand... or he always held mine, one of the two.
He taught me how to skip rocks... and helped me fish... and taught me how to play real solitaire. and once, I broke his glasses in a pillow fight. When we were in Colorado. In the mountains. That was a sticky situation.
We would always read the Sunday funnies together... Now we do sudoku puzzles together. Most of the time we just mess them up.

Well, I'm going to go call him now... and then finalize my speech! and then do Greek homework! And then go to bed!