The Man Who Put The Sun In My Sky

There are few days that go by where I don’t think of my grandfather and not only the impact he had on me, but so many others. Veteran’s Day is no exception as he fought for his country as a U.S. Marine in World War II.

What I always found so interesting about him is how rarely he spoke of his time in the military. Come to think about it, he rarely talked about any of his accomplishments despite being a very accomplished man. 

The day he passed away was a day I knew was inevitable, but still a day I was dreading. In fact, you know those times where you have to fight the urge to laugh because it’s inappropriate? This would happen to be often due to an overactive inner dialogue, but the thing I always would think about is my grandfather passing away and it cut the urge to laugh like a sharp knife. 

My mother always told me my grandfather and I had a close bond because we both had rough starts in life. I was born with a genetic condition that resulted in a surgery when I was six weeks old and he was sent to be raised by his grandmother at an early age and not really having a relationship with his parents. Rumor has it, even after three children of his own and three grandkids prior to me being born, my diaper was the first one he changed. My guess is it was the last!

Him and I were always early risers. When my brother and I would stay overnight at my grandparents’ house, my grandfather was always up first in the morning. One of my most special memories of him and the perfect depiction of how I actually view him was asking him why he got up so early. His response was, “Well, someone has to put the sun in the sky!”

And he did. In so many ways.

Despite not having the ideal start, he lead an incredibly full life positively impacting countless people. In fact, after he passed, my family learned of even more stories of people he helped throughout his 90 years of an amazing life. 

I wrote the following on the day he passed away and have shared it several times. It helped me cope with his loss reflecting over all of my amazing memories of him. There are so many more than listed here, but if I could sing his praises every day about what a magical and inspiring human being he was, I would. So on this Veteran’s Day (and every day for that matter), I am grateful for one particular Veteran, Nick Salis whom I called Papou.

My grandfather who died at the age of 90, was so much to so many. To me he was my hero whom I simply called “Papou”. Papou: a Marine who fought in World War II and fell in love with my grandmother through exchanging letters in the mail. A lover of Cheez-its, chocolate, and all things garlic, who exercised every day until he physically couldn’t – two weeks prior to him passing away. 

A successful, but humble businessman who preferred sandals with socks over dress shoes and a tie. A natural born leader, who did things the way he wanted no matter what anyone said or thought, including eating donuts with butter. A man who never had an unkind word to say about anyone and whose generosity knew no limits. A father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, an uncle, a brother, a friend whom everyone adored and admired because he was just a big kid who loved his family more than anything; A big kid who killed it on the golf course with 5 holes in one in his lifetime (the last one being at age 87). 

He made sure to always have kit-kats in the freezer, beer in the cooler, silver dollars in his pockets to give out, and cards on the table. He is the reason I am fearless at the blackjack table. He has single-handedly created a family of card sharks. “You never hit on a 12 when the dealer is showing a ten!” 

Papou was the life of the party, always had a smile on his face, a joke on the tip of his tongue and could Greek dance like no other. He was always full of surprises and never stopped learning – he knew more about how to use an iPad than I did and made sure to send me a “selfie” when he was just starting out on it. He never stopped teaching me and shortly before he passed he told me “it’s better to laugh than to cry.”

So while I can’t promise not to cry, I am so thankful to have so many cherished memories of such a remarkable person in my and my family’s life. I can only hope to live as full of a life as he has had. To my Papou – one of the greatest who always put the sun in my sky.