Can you tell me the address to heaven?

When I was in sixth grade, I participated in an afterschool astronomy club. I was very shy as a little girl but there was something about the night sky that would light up my soul. I loved learning about all the constellations and planets. I could stare into the vast darkness for hours. Hoping to catch a glimpse of a falling star. My wishes were stacked and ready, just in case.

My mother was young when she had my brother and me. She worked a lot of hours trying to build up her career, presenting an opportunity for my brother and me to spend quite a bit of time with our grandparents. They had a cabin, that my family built by hand, in East Rosebud, Montana. I jumped in excitement for any chance to go up there with them. Such a beautiful place!

My Grandpa Bob has a very unique, outgoing personality. He was a salesman and it showed. He enjoyed visiting with random strangers. Especially, at the local car part stores. A brilliant man, as he self-taught himself to be an electrician and auto mechanic. He was always busy working on one of his children, grandchildren, or their friend's cars in his garage. He could tell you what the issue was with your vehicle before you even popped your hood. You knew before pulling into that garage, your gas gauge better be at half a tank or more and the oil better have been regularly checked. He was very detailed with his mechanical work. When your car was fixed, it also had all the fluids checked and filled. The battery cables were cleaned, belts checked and replaced if necessary... sparkplugs and all. No aspect was left unchecked or corrected. Being a fair man, all receipts were provided with any costs owed to him. Of course, most of the time he preferred homemade pecan pie or cookies in exchange for his labor.

He is such a lover of food!

Knowing his favorite dessert was pecan pie, I went out and purchased all the ingredients to make him one for his birthday. Turns out, pecan pies are not the cheapest thing to bake. Making two pies at a time, the first set came out of the oven, picture-perfect. I cut into one to check the consistency of the inside... runny as could be! Ugh! On to round two! Each recipe I tried, had the same results. I could not get any of those pies to set. After making six pies, I rushed to the local bakery to purchase one to ensure his birthday dessert was delicious. When I told him how I couldn't get any of the pies to set, he asked to try one of my baking disasters. I will never forget him holding a slice of pecan pie in his hands, attempting to take a bite as the inside was running all over him. Being the person he is, he loudly proclaimed how amazing it tasted and even requested another slice! To this date, I have yet to have one set! As you can imagine, I am not a big fan of the pecan pie... makes me so mad, and such an expensive dessert to fail every time, but for him... I would try a million more times!

My Grandpa Bob is a firm believer in a handshake being a worthy contract. Your word was all you had. He was fair and just, but if you crossed him or didn't do as you said you would, there was no coming back and having the same relationship as before. A highly respected man, his grandchildren adore him. His unique personality is reflected in the hand clap he does as he calls out one of us by the creative nicknames, he has given each of us. Some made sense, such as mine was Crissy Susie. There was Jer Bad, Ry Guy, Bannie, The Hailmeister, and Rip n Snort! It wasn't just the nicknames that made him stand out above the rest. He also has a few colorful statements, that honestly, we have no idea what they mean. He would clap his hands and yell out "Don't rap on my douls"!

Yeah, pretty insane, right?

As a little girl, I remember riding next to him in his red Chevy truck, in route to the cabin. I just had received a glow-in-the-dark, spinner map, that showed what constellations could be seen in the night sky. As he drove, I would ask him to give me a date and time so I could practice reading it. I know he truly had no interest in any of that but he was a good sport and played along anyways. A trip to the cabin meant a stop at the dew drop inn for one of the best milkshakes ever. I think he made sure this trip to stop to keep my mouth busy with my drink to give his ears a break from all of my talking! I couldn't help it... I love the night sky!

That night, I remember him waking me up by lifting me off the couch and wrapping me in a blanket. He walked outside onto the deck and told me to look up... "Crissy, that is the milky way"! The pitch-black sky was filled with a milky white cluster of stars of every size that ran from one side of the night sky to the other. It was by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen! I couldn't wait to get back to my afterschool club to tell them all about it! Unless you have an opportunity to see it for yourself, you truly have no idea how magical of a sight it is! Beyond words extreme! It is an image in my mind I will never forget!

I remember once asking someone what they thought the loudest sound in the world was, they responded... "a heartbreaking"

I truly didn't grasp the depth in that statement until July 22, 2017. That was the date the greatest man in my life... passed away! My Grandpa Bob had been battling a rare form of cancer. The medical teams he had seen, had finally figured out how to treat it. He was going to be cured and back to his old self in no time! On that day, things did not go as expected and the world lost one amazing man! I had been sick the past few weeks, so I was not able to visit him. Being in the cancer ward, they couldn't risk me possibly giving one of the patients a virus with their weakened immune systems. I cried so hard knowing he was gone and I wasn't given an opportunity to visit him, or to say goodbye!

When I poured my heart out and sobbed to a dear friend, regarding this, she responded to me..."Crystal, even if you could have seen him, you would have never told him goodbye! You would have told him you would see him soon and would have his favorite pie baked and ready for him!"

Her words couldn't have been more spot on! Never in a million years, would I have thought the strongest, funniest, most brilliant man in the world... My Grandpa Bob... could die! Yet, he did, along with half my heart that day!

Today would have been his 81st birthday. Instead of cooking all his favorite dishes, and another failed attempt at a pecan pie... I am sitting here sharing with you all, just a few reasons he was the most amazing man in my life!

Now, can someone please tell me the address for heaven? I have a birthday card I would like to send him...

Signed: Happy 81st birthday, to you Grandpa Bob! Tonight I will celebrate you, as the years prior, when a rare sighting of the milky way fills the darkness of the city night. Your love will come glowing through, clear from the left to the right! You may be gone, but never will be forgotten! Here's to you... rock the night!

Love always and forever,

Crissy Suzie