For the record, before I begin, my grandfather (on my mother's side) is probably the most intelligent person I've ever met, and trust me, I know more than a few brilliant minds. I come from them. I hang with them. I work with them. ... I hope to be one of them. You know the deal.
I went to Puerto Rico for a week to chill with my grandfather. As soon as I heard he wasn't doing too well I booked a flight ASAP. I went down there for two reasons. One was to hang out with my grandfather. The other was to give my aunt a break, because she puts in a lot of her time into making sure my grandfather is ok, not to mention that grandma (another ridiculously brilliant mind) needs a helping hand herself sometimes.
My aunt also had to leave to a medical conference in Prague.
So I get there around 3:30 p.m., and as usual when I go to PR I'm greeted with food & liquor (word to Lupe Fiasco). I brought my grandfather a gift, a futbol (soccer) jersey and a ball from his favorite team, Real Madrid. He's from Madrid. He's hardcore with that, like I am with Dade (Miami). He loved that.
So we chilled, talked, watched a few futbol matches. He even wore the jersey I bought him during the Real Madrid match. They won. I forget who they played against and the score, but I think it was 2-0. He was yelling at the screen and everything. It was good to see him full of life, even if he was cursing out the announcer.
We also went to this (mainly) seafood restaurant to celebrate my grandfather's brother's (grand uncle?) 44th wedding anniversary. We were about 30 deep, and the food was cool. The staff was cooler. I had a fried snapper, some wine, some appetizers and a great time. There was also a belly dancer there. Someone said she was family. I was disappointed. I later found out that she was my grand uncle's neighbor and god daughter. That's not family. Is it? I hope not. She was. ... not family I hope.
So I hung out more with the grandparents, went to eat a few times, went to a supermarket that might be more expensive than Whole Foods and cooked almost every night. Everybody knows when I come to Puerto Rico I own the kitchen.
I also chilled with my little cousins who are both aspiring musicians. They started a band together with a few other people. I gave them some advice about recording and promoting their music. My younger, female cousin was a piano prodigy at the age of five and was playing in Canada before she. ... Well, before she probably did anything.
The last couple of days before I left I made sure I was able to sit down with my grandfather, and just talk to him, and learn more about him. I always knew he led an interesting life, but I had no idea what I was in store for. I knew he was a doctor (psychiatrist), an olympian for Spain and an art collector among other things. He was also an amateur boxer (35-0). I found that out when I saw a picture of him with my grandma. He had a cast on his right arm. He mentioned he broke that arm during a bout with some Italian guy.
There were some other interesting facts I learned about my grandfather, but I'll save that. If time allows I think I'll go to go back to PR, and pick his brain some more, maybe even record it. If I live one-third of the life he's lived, I'd be content with that. He amazes me, and that's not something that's easy to do.
I got back from my trip late Saturday night, used Sunday to recuperate and went to work early Monday morning on a TV show. Tomorrow I work on another show. I'll let let you know more about that soon.
Be good.
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