It’s Friday. I’m looking forward to the usual weekend night of video games, ice cream, and general laziness. Plopping down on the couch, I flick the TV on, immersing myself into the mindless drone of the news. But alas, it was not to be.
“Why aren’t you ready yet?” my dad yelled from his room. “We leave in 10 minutes!”
Leaving? Wait; hold on a second, where are we going? We don’t have anything… Oh. That’s right, were going to our grandparent’s retirement home again. We just went on Sunday!
With a sigh, I switch off the wonderful, blaring box, and walk slowly to my room, spying through a door my mother screaming at my brother because is shirt is too wrinkled. Grabbing a dusty pair of dress pants from the closet, I rush to the door.
The retirement home is like a hotel, lavishly decorated and bright. Reaching the dining room, we greet our grandparents with hugs and hellos. We are quickly ushered to our table, and pull open the menus.
***
When is the food gonna come? I nibble on the bread, tapping my foot in impatience. The adults are talking about some other dinner tomorrow. Great. Staring off into space, I realize my grandpa is talking.
“Have I ever told you boys about the time I went to Europe? Well, it was during WWII, nearing its end in 1945 and I had a chance to enlist, to see the world. Now, I had many choices for my future; Japan, China, I even had a chance to enlist in the illustrious 442nd. But in the end, I chose to join in on some obscure guard duty in France…”
I zone out. I’ve already heard this one many times, and I still remember him telling me last time, even if he doesn’t. For a while, I stare at the ice, bobbing up and down in my glass.
“Me and my friends were just out of school, and were going to choose were to go. Now, I said to all of them: lets go to Europe, to see all the famous landmarks and sights. But my friends said no. My pal Ernest told me that it wasn’t worth it. why not just go wherever they told you, or better yet, the 442! You could get real famous there.”
“So, I set off on my own. Everywhere I went there, I was the only Oriental person there. This was more of a tour of Europe than a fight, and I was happy with that. I went to see the Eiffel Tower, Venice, and Rome. I even went to the isle of Capri, into the famous Blue Grotto. You know where that is, don’t you? It was amazing. Turquoise water, all around, and a tunnel so small that you had to lie down in the boat to get through, even at low tide. Its closed down now, too dangerous. Its things like that I went to the war for.
“But what war was there? Everyone was starting to go home to America now, and I was in a group that was pulling out soon too. The war was winding down. All I did after my adventures was guard some base in France for a few months, and that was it. Shipped back, with not a touch of war on me.”
This was the same old story as before, but for some reason, it hit me this time. My grandfather had actually done all these things! It wasn’t just some old story; it was part of his life. Nothing I have ever done in my short existence could even compare to that! The food had come, but I ignored it. I sat and eagerly awaited that familiar ending.
“When I came home, I met up with my friend Earnest again. This time, he was really down looking.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him. He told me how much he regretted not taking that chance with me.
“You know, in those days, boys, people just didn’t travel. It cost too much, and it was really hard to do. Only in the military could you hope to see any sights. Now Earnest, he was a really sorry looking sight, with all his mumbling and grumbling. Well, I had told him, but he just wouldn’t listen. I grabbed at this chance, and others, and never regretted any of them. So remember, when it comes to taking a chance, a leap out into the air, even if no one else follows.”
Wow. This was really the most morally strong ending I’ve heard in a while. But this time, it actually did something. It opened my eyes to all the could-haves in my live, and made me promise myself to take any chances I get. The dinner laying cold and forgotten on the plate, I leaned forward in my chair, to hear the rest of his tales.
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10 comments:
Hey Mark!
Wow I your story is really well written, especially all the uses of your adjectives. The story is brought to life by the feeling of boredom by your grandpa and then the sudden perk of interest. I really like the morale, the first story i've heard of with this morale yet. Good Job!
I really liked your story. I think that I know how you felt listening to your grandpa tell you the same story over and over again. I guess that because we are older now, we are starting to realize that our grandparents actually did these things and are amazing people.
When I read your ghost paper in class and saw how good it was, I knew that I had to read your heritage paper. I like the way you use very descriptive verbs and adjectives to capture my attention. I like how you understood the importance of your grandparents "talk stories" in the end.
I thought your story was really good. You pulled a great family value out of a story you heard multiple times without thought.
Mark, your story is soooo interesting. The way that you weave your opinions through the story really made it your own. It's also very detailed and had a clear morale of the story at the end. Overall your story was great!
good job in the writing of the paper. its also good that your grandpas stories were able to give u good advice like taking a chance. nice job
Nicely written story. It was easy to understand and follow. There were a lot of good discriptions further detailng your story. Awsome story Mark.
Hi Mark, I really like how you end your story eager to hear more, because it kind of trails off allowing the reader to think of an ending for themself. I also think it's really great that you were able to learn more about your grandfather, even if at first it seems to unreal to believe.
hey mark,
i really like your story, i like the way you wrote it, and it is interesting. I often here family stories over and over, so i know how you feel.
hii mark=)
i know how everybody tells you that your story is really good, they like it, or it's soo interesting but, i say all thoughs things and its true. You wrote your story so good, i wish i could write like you, sheesh. haha but you did a great job, seriously! Your story teaches a great lesson and don't worry because i always look forward to doing boring things and hanging with friends whenever i don't have anything to do. good job!
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