Grandpa at Christmas 2005

Well, tradition continues with a wacky Templin-family Christmas. The star of the festivities was undoubtedly my grandfather (mother’s father, Grandpa Wolf). Here were some of the highlights:

1) At dinner Christmas Eve Grandpa tells me that he and Grandma tried out Nothing But Noodles at my suggestion. He then proceeded to go on and on about how bad it was and demonstrated this fact by gagging and giving it two thumbs down. Problem: I liked it so much and was sure they would that I bought them a $25 gift certificate to NBN! I leaned over and told Uncle Tom about my dilemma and after much debate we came up with exchanging gift cards with one that he and my aunt Mary had up at the house. After a quick wrap job and re-tagging of the GC withTom & Mary Ann’s name things were settled. By present-opening time it seemed everyone in the family but them knew about the mishap. When T & MA opened their “new gift” much laughter rang out and Grandpa, who still had no idea what was going on, started in again on how bad the restaurant was, which made us all laugh even harder.

2) Every gift Grandpa opened had the same routine: tear the wrapping paper off, un-tape the box, crack it open and peer in. He’d then quickly shut the box roll his head and eyes around and go “ohhhh! It’s a good one”. He of course had no idea what was in the box as he’d consistently forget his glasses and would open the box so little that not even light could get in. When he would finally open the box and reveal the gift, half the time he’d have to ask my mom next to him what it was.

3) Mike, my brother, gave Grandpa a dual CD with Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra on it. Grandpa’s response: “Oh, two dead ones! Love it”. “Love it”, the phrase said after every gift he opened, was said in this freaky kind of gay tone which was over the top to hear from an 80-year-old man.

4) Greg, my other brother, got Grandpa PER HIS REQUEST Aqua Velva cologne which smells as cheap as it is. Note that this stuff is like a collector’s item and had to be bought on E-Bay. Grandpa was thrilled to open it and went on and on about how the “Ladies love it” and he’ll have to push them off to keep them away. My grandmother just rolled her eyes.

5) Grandpa bought Jim a fishing pole, reel and accessories for Christmas. After explaining how to assemble the equipment, how each part worked and confirming that Jim understood him he replies “good, now come over sometime soon and I’ll put it together for you.”

Even as I write this I know I’ll be grateful because a few years from now (hopefully) when he’s passed, I’ll be able to look back on this and laugh as we did all weekend when my immediate family told and retold the stories from the weekend. He truly is a special, great man.