Cracking Up: Grandpa's heart bleeds red, white and blue

as published at www.ocregister.com on July 4th, 2012:

I inherited my mom’s love of good books, my dad’s love of roller coasters, and my grandpa’s love of the red, white, and blue.

When it comes to patriotism, Grandpa Davis is a flag-waving, parade-marching, my country ‘tis of thee Marine. And I pledge my thanks to him for teaching me what it means to be an American.

The day Autumn's grandfather was elected President of the Bodfish Chapter of the 1st Marine Division Association.

While there, we parents keep a close watch on our young kids as Grandpa’s house hides a mini-arsenal of wildly appealing weaponry. Ever a proponent of his Constitutional rights, Grandpa jumps at the chance to take his grandkids to the shooting range, and jokingly threatens to shoot us if we neglect our right to vote.

For as long as I can remember, the 4^th of July has meant a party at Grandpa Davis’ house—his delegated hosting role only natural as the one relative who served in the armed forces and once owned a firework stand. Every year, we all know to show up at Grandpa’s to eat our KFC and wave our sparklers. Upon arrival, we find his day-to-day patriotic home décor further enhanced by a whole Party City aisle of extra flags and streamers, and a sea of appropriately colored, berry-speckled cakes.

Though no longer on the battlefield, Grandpa feels it’s his mission to spread his Semper Fi spirit wherever we go. Whenever Grandpa spots a fellow Marine, he distributes one of the many refrigerator magnets he carries advertising that not only are Marines good-looking, but they’ll kick your a%$, too. Grandpa regularly gifts us with rare military coins or holiday light strands of bullet casings, and floods our email inboxes with tear-inducing stories of patriots who perform brave acts in the name of our country.

While Grandpa’s “Oorah” may sound dangerous, he’s a marshmallow inside. A few years back at a Marine auction, Grandpa Davis set his eyes on an item that he didn’t need for its intended use, but that suited his penchant for patriotic paraphernalia: a starred and striped walking cane. I’m sure he was thrilled when he outbid his opponent, bestowing the cane to his Americana collection.

But when he went to claim his prize, Grandpa was told that the woman who bid against him had real difficulty walking due to her multiple sclerosis...

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Cracking Up: Grandpa's heart bleeds red, white and blue - OC Moms - The Orange County Register