Pop Pop

Pop Pop was my grandfather, and he was one of the biggest influences in my life.

He was always there for me. He spent a lot of time with me. He always advised me and helped as much as he could. And he always believed in me.

I have so many stories about him that I’m not sure where to start:

Always shook my hand and squeezed HARD! He could aways out-squeeze me until I got to college…

He was quite a lucky man. He always seemed to be the guy to win the raffle or catch the foul ball. One time he took me on a road trip to Corpus Cristi for a deep sea fishing trip. I was motion sick for most of the trip, and he caught the biggest fish and won something like $1000 along with it. I still have the foul ball he caught at a Phillies game signed by Chico Ruiz.

Laughing was his super power. He was always laughing and telling great jokes. He could literally entertain a party for the better part of 45 minutes with one joke after another. He did this with my new in-laws when Lily and I first got married. He was on fire, entertaining everyone with the best jokes.

I was struggling with baseball and he was the first person to realize that my eyes were bad. We went to the optometrist and sure enough – I needed glasses.

When I was 8 or 9 playing basketball, he signed me up for a basketball camp. Then he showed me how to get inside and throw elbows at the opposing players!

He was always changing things up in his life. He would get a new car every few years. He would grow his hair out, grow his beard out, etc.

He went skydiving when he turned 80 years old!

Dogs always had an extraordinary amount of affection for him.

We had a great COVID road trip back to ABQ from FL.

Interviews:[video: https://youtu.be/oZpnQjPYU9o][video: https://youtu.be/YvHwgVyFbPs]