Grandpa Lou, I love and miss you so much. It is an honor a privilege and most of all a beautiful gift to have been your grandson.
These past few days, I’ve been thinking of how to describe Grandpa. Here’s what I came up with. Imagine flipping a coin and no matter how it landed you always won, no trick coins involved. Heads or tails you’ll always land on Grandpa Lou. If you look up a word that describes grandpa in the dictionary ( say, Pride, no one was more proud than grandpa) now look under the antonyms and you'll find humble, another word to perfectly describe my grandpa .
He would always declare “I am louis shamie” and told me to be proud of my name, Jack Shamie. it is a name shared with granpa’s brother, whom he loved and cherished deeply. He gave me a picture of my Uncle Jack and told me how amazing he was and to strive to be as great as he was. Family meals by grandma were always a loud event. Every dinner or lunch the whole family would all sing along to “glorious” the shamie family song, always sung way, way off-tune. Nothing would stop us. How proud one has to be to compose a family song. And yet as proud as he was, as a polar opposite Grandpa is also the most humble man I know.
When Grandpa Lou would get an Aliya in shul it was quite a site. The amount of people lining up to shake his hand one would think it was the chief rabbi. But Grandpa, would never think himself higher or above anyone else. I'd stand waiting patiently to shake Grandpa's hand and give him a kiss. Eventually they would have to continue with the next Aliya...and I'm still waiting. Finally as the sea finally starts to settle, I see Grandpa, tears rolling down his cheek giving long embraces to his friends, humbled by the the love and respect he received, Finally I got my kiss. From a shipping clerk to being honored like a king Grandpa knew who he was, a great man but he also knew all men are created equal qin the eyes of God. To Grandpa, being humble was not thinking lower of himself but rather seeing great potential in others around him and raising them up. He knew who he was, how he got there, who helped him get there where he came from and especially how lucky he was..
Grandpa Lou was also strong as an ox with a roar of a lion but, he was as soft and fluffy as a teddy bear. If you were doing something wrong you'd know but you would also feel how much loves you. Any loud talking was a sign that you can do better, not that he was angry at you. As tough as he was, it didn’t bring much to bring tears to his eyes. On Passover the sound of Sinatra sung by Stevie chera moved my grandpa dearly. Holding grandma’s hand and listening with his heart you can see tears of appreciation in his eyes.
A little after Grandpa got sick I was deleting old voicemails to make room in my inbox. All of a sudden I was hit with a great surprise, a message from Grandma and Grandpa congratulating me on my graduation. Grandma leads of with a big congratulations, you can hear the excitement in her voice. Grandma then hands the phone to Grandpa "hi Jack congratulations good things inshallah, I love you" so simple. so sweet you can feel the love he had in his voice. I will always cherish the love grandpa had for me.
Another example of my analogy is that Grandpa could be stubborn as a mule. It was his way or the highway. He even had a sign in his office that read "one I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken". As fixed as he was, Grandpa was also a pioneer. He changed people's lives and even entire industries. He had a talent for knowing people's abilities always teaching and always learning himself. I believe that Grandpa's stubbornness ensured his greatness. Nothing can shift his principles, not one fraction of an inch. No corners were to be cut as he grew his business. If his children or grandchildren couldn't use his product, no one would. His principles of Torah family charity respect and care for others never waivered.
As serious as Grandpa was in business, with his grandchildren it was always a blast! Nothing beats ice cream with Grandpa. I remember Grandpa teasing us during the world series. We were all rooting for the Yankees, but Grandpa. There was no changing his mind, he was rooting for the Florida Marvin's. (pause) yes I said marvins not Marlins, there was no convincing him off that either. We were all laughing at how silly he was..
As the last example of the coin flip is how Grandpa was cheap on himself but generous without others. A simple blue pull over vest and a buttoned shirt is how Grandpa dressed. And many have heard how Delta was started. He had to get wholesale prices for a crib. But when it came to others his generosity knew no bounds, in good times and even during rough times. I always loved watching Grandpa Lou at the deli. Every time a new plate of pickles came the busboy would get a big handshake from Grandpa with a fistful of cash inside. He did this out of respect for the hard work the busboy did and they loved him for it.
When it comes to Grandpa's brilliance honesty, respect outlook on life and his love of others, I'm afraid my analogy fails. There was no firmer handshake than Grandpa's, his word was his bond. Everyone had Grandpa's respect, it didn't matter who you were, you were full of potential. As for Grandpa's outlook he would say "nothing is impossible in this life". And lastly Grandpa's love. His love of the family can fill the emptiness space, but nothing compares to his love of Grandma Lorraine. My wife Stella tells me of the lasting impression Grandpa left on her. She tells me when we were engaged, Grandma and Grandpa were eating by my in-laws having dinner when Grandpa stated in a loud voice "I love my beautiful wife Lorraine". The whole world needed to know. Stella also reminds me of how Grandpa danced at our wedding with true heart and vigor.
Grandma, I love you so much. I know how much you loved each other. I love hearing the stories of your trips and adventures that you had together. You were each others anchor. I look forward to continuing our summer tradition of Shabbat morning bagels and sharing good times together.
Thank you everyone for sharing your love and respect for my Grandpa. I'd like to end as I started. Grandpa I love you and will miss you so much.
Commenti