The Memory

I was 4 years old. My grandpa was getting sicker and sicker by the day, and he was constantly in and out of the hospital. Me, my mom and dad went to visit him in the hospital. All of my aunts, uncles and cousins were there.
We were eating dunkin’ donuts in the room. For a moment the room smelled like fresh brewed coffee and then, all I could smell was sickness.

I hate the smell of hospitals. I could hear all of the heart monitors beeping in the background and hear all the nurses shuffling from room to room. I wondered why everyone was lying in a bed. I vividly remember sitting on the floor, eating my donut and looking at my sick grandfather in the bed. He was too sick to talk. Every once in a while he would wiggle his finger in a waving motion to say hi to me. He was too weak to even wave his whole hand. My mom was 5 months pregnant with my twin sisters.

My dad and I left the hospital room (where most of my big family where crammed into) to get my grandpa a gift from the hospital shop. Down in the lobby it smelled a little better. I could smell the food they were cooking in the cafeteria. In the store, I noticed a little stuffed shark. Boy did I really want that shark and to get my dad to buy it I said, “Lets get grandpa that!” I really didn’t want to buy it for grandpa I wanted it for myself. Anyway, my dad bought it and we went back up to the room. When we walked in my dad told me to give it to grandpa. So much for my little plan I thought. When I handed it to him he must have seen the disappointment on my face because he said,
“You know Butch (grandpa always called me Butch), I’m too sick to take care of this shark, I want you to keep him and take care of him until I feel better.” I was really happy; I was going to get to keep the shark after all. Sadly this would be the last time I would see my grandpa alive. He died early the next morning, December 21, 1998.

This was the first wake I ever attended. The quietness and somberness of the funeral home scared me. It didn’t smell good in there either!

I remember walking in, holding the shark and seeing him in the casket and thinking that he was just sleeping. I remember thinking that I wanted my grandpa to have the shark. I remember walking up to the casket and putting the shark down right next to him. My grandpa was buried with the little shark next to him. As a child I remember hoping that he knew that I gave it back to him. He was buried on Christmas Eve, 1998. Wherever he is, I hope he is happy and taking good care of the shark!





In Loving Memory –
Gustav Kaferstein
April 30, 1940 – Dec 21, 1998