Emanuel with Grandather / 1997

Emanuel and Gradpa: first golf lesson (Macau)

Emanuel (China) 2008

From Emanuel [Grandson] :

I was first able to meet Granddad in Macau in 1997, and then again when we visited the US a few years later. Those were the times I got to know my Grandfather. I'm blessed to have that chance, and to have good memories of him, of the house in Cleveland, and of our family, and of the few times we spent together.

We were at Jacobs park in Cleveland, Ohio - Philip, Granddad and I. The game itself wasn't a high scorer, I believe it was 0-0 with the Pittsburg Pirates in the eighth innings, but for me it is one great memory I have with Grandfather, and that image of him, with his cap, shirt and shorts, laughing and kidding about his hapless Cleveland Indians, will be the one I remember the most. We left before the ninth to avoid the after-game traffic, naturally rather disappointed with the evenings outcome, in the car though, through the radio, we got to experience the winning run that won Cleveland the game - cursing our luck and feeling victorious at the same time – what fun.

That was the summer of 2000, and I was 11 years old. That summer would be the last time I saw him… but it was because of that outing that I can remember him so vividly. I can really remember his manner of being, his walk, and his quick wit. So I feel that we were close, in our own way. We shared a special joke after that, he was always complaining at the game that the guy “Kenny Lofton couldn't hit a watermelon if he tried…” I always mentioned that in the letters we exchanged, things like “So has Kenny Lofton learned to hit the ball yet?”, or “The Indians find someone who can hit a watermelon yet?”, and he always got it… I guess in little things like that I felt close to Grandpa and hoped he knew I loved him as well.

Since the year 2000, I have been growing up, with all the pains and joys associated with it. Now, I am almost finishing university, and there are big decisions and challenges ahead. Today I've been thinking of Grandfather as I knew him, and of the Grandfather that has been lovingly shared to me by my mother. Here is someone who has been through life, its ups and downs, who has accomplished things, who has known suffering and loneliness, who has really been through all life can throw at you, and come out a better man, who has daughters and grandchildren to be proud of, who has found peace and salvation in Jesus and has the hope of eternal life, who has “trodden the valley” of old age and stared death in the face, and who now has passed on to a better life. As I think about these things, I'm once again reminded how precious life is, how precious love is, and that, now as I face my future, I know the best way to honor his memory is to live a life worth living…

Emanuel

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