Steve: Life of My Grandfather

By: Steve Wang

Some time after World War 2 ended, on the 18th of August 1945 a young boy,王得平, was born. His name is supposed to mean getting safe. His parents named him that in light of World War 2 ending. He was born into a poor family. So, considering the amount of money they had, he was sent to a public school. When he was in university, he studied administration and how to manage things. That was where he met one of his best friends who has been selling glasses ever since he graduated. They had many happy times together. One he remembers most is the time when they were riding a bike together down a mountain. They kept needing to use the break to slow themselves down. In the end, the break wore out and they could not stop the bike. So, they fell off the bike. Luckily, no one got hurt but it ended up being a memorable memory of his young days.

When he became an adult, he went to work at a private company. He worked there for some time but in the end, he chose to work at Taiwan Power Company. There he started by working on electrical transformers. He then moved on to managing the relations of employees with the company. In the end, he got to a managing position where he did planning (future products?). That was also the time he started wearing his signature outfit, collared shirts, long pants, and, leather shoes. Also, he started eating bread for breakfast every single day. During that time, he was introduced to his wife by their relatives. It would not be long before he decided to marry her. They got married on April 21, 1971. He was 27 years old at that time and his wife was 24. They then went on to have three children. Two boys and one girl. The girl was the youngest and the two other boys were older. All of them were only one year old apart. Some years later, his eldest son came of age and went to work overseas. The actions of his younger son allowed him to send his younger son and daughter to America to pursue their studies. His younger son came back to Taiwan after one year of studying and his daughter stayed for 3 more years where she continued to worked on her studies.

About ten years later, his eldest son gave him his first granddaughter. He and his wife began to take care of the child when his eldest son's family worked abroad. However, when the child was 4, the mother decided to take the child to raise and work simultaneously. Sad as he and his wife were, it would not be long before they had another chance to take care of another child. This time a boy from his daughter. Again he and his wife raised the child for a few years before the parents took over. By 2010, he was 65 years old, he decided he had enough money and he decided to retire from the place he had worked for 40 years. All this time he kept things the same. Never changing his signature attire, his breakfast menu, and his workplace. After he retired, he did not get very long to relax because every few years one of his children would give him new grandchildren to raise. In total, he and his wife received 4 more children to raise before handing them off to their parents. As many kids as he raised, he only got to see two regularly. Two were studying abroad, two were busy with their studies. That left him with the two youngest who would go to their house every day after school. This was roughly the time that he picked up the habit of watching the weather report on tv at 8 pm everyday. This him very content with his life. He was living in a good house with his wife. His younger son's family would also come to have dinner everyday before going home. His eldest son and his daughter would also come to visit as often as they could. He loved his life and enjoyed the quiet life he had.

Fate seemed to have had other things planned for him. The house he lives in is owned by his eldest son, so, when his eldest son and his family moved back to Taiwan, they stayed in the same house. That mean that he would be living with his wife and his oldest son's family, another his youngest son's family would visit almost daily. Even so, he seemed content. He had gotten used to this life. On most days, he would wake up at 7 am, put on his signature attire, and go catch Pokemon on his phone. Then, he would come back to have breakfast. From 9 am to 11:30 am, he would relax and chat with his wife while his children and grandchildren were at work or school. From 11:30 to 12:30, he would have lunch. Then, take his afternoon nap. After waking up, he would go take a walk and catch more Pokemon. 4 pm to 5:30 would be his afternoon tea time. At this time, he would drink tea or coffee and eat some snacks. After that, he would relax more or take care of his small garden in front of the house. At 7 pm he would have dinner with his big family. At 8 pm, he would never forget to turn on the tv to watch the weather report. If this was a Saturday, he would turn his tv back on again at 9 pm to watch his favorite tv show. Feeling tired, he would go to sleep at around 11 pm. He is a man of habit he would follow his schedule everyday no matter what kind of day or weather it was. If it was raining or there was a typhoon he would still go for his usual walks. He also enjoys talking about stocks, politics, and news with his children at dinner. Sometimes, he would tell his younger grandchildren stories about his past. On some weekends, he would go out on trips with his family. On other days, he would go and visit his best friend whose glasses shop is still open to this day.

He lives a happy and scheduled life. Unless the family was going out for the weekends or holidays, he always follow his schedule. Similar to following a schedule, he will always wear his collared shirt, long jeans, and, leather shoes. To his friends, he will be remembered as a man of habit who never fails to wear clothes of his style and eat bread for breakfast. To most people, he will be remembered as a kind and generous man who donates money to charity. To his family, he will be remembered as a great father who raised 9 children in his time. A great father who would never forget any of his children's and grandchildren's birthdays. To me, he will be the old man who used to share his stories with me before I go to sleep. Even though our opinions would differ and there would be disputes between us, I will never forget the time he has spent with me and the stories he has told. May he live happily and be loved until his time comes.