  Batty Update My dad passed away on Saturday night. We were all out laughing and celebrating my grandma's life after her funeral when my brother got the call from the hospital. We quickly organized 3 carloads of cousins and honorary family and sped to Hayward to see my father for the last time. I stood by the side of his bed and cried quietly. I heard my brother sniffling but I didn't want&nbsp;to look away from my father's face.
I wanted to take one long&nbsp;last look. My mother&nbsp;hurried in shortly afterwards&nbsp;with the bag of white cloths that we had used earlier for grandma's ceremonies. We wrapped them around our heads and watched as she touched his face and closed his eyes. She then led a prayer for him.&nbsp;We all knew what to do because this&nbsp;was our third death this year. Grandpa in January, grandma last week, and now my dad.&nbsp; I took 3 days off from work this week to fill my head with mindless television and&nbsp;fill my stomach&nbsp;with empty calories.&nbsp;I've been helping my mom with dealing with the paperwork and procedures of death:&nbsp; get a death certificate,&nbsp; get a doctor's certification of death... notify health insurance, and notify social security...
I've&nbsp;taken to wearing a "mourn-iform"&nbsp;of a big grey fleece&nbsp;sweatshirt and baggy grey sweatpants. I've worn this for several days. Green Marble says I'm one step away from wearing mumuus. Anyway I'm still&nbsp;realizing that&nbsp;my dad is dead&nbsp;so I really don't have anything concrete to say about it now. But I wrote this on Friday for my grandma and I was going to work on it and post it on Monday, but&nbsp;life got in the way.
So here it is. Here is how I remember grandma... My grandma was a smart-aleck who'd squeeze my arm and say with a smile,"Beu! " (This word is usually applied to a succulent fatty cut of meat. ) She was fun to be around and liked to tease people in a harmless good-natured way. In my eyes she had always been old with a head of snow white hair that she'd wear in a loose bun. She&nbsp; pottered around her garden and liked to keep up with the kids. &nbsp; I remember when I was about 7 our whole clan went camping and though she was small and old, she went hiking on a sometimes steep, rocky trail with us kids... When I stayed at her house in the summer with my auntie and cousins, sometimes she'd microwave us mini pizzas and let me sip from a squat can of 7-up... She liked the taste of mint and she liked to smoke a cigarette when she did the #2... She was deeply religious and prayed a rosary every night with my grandpa.
Once the rosary began, there could be no interruptions until they were finished. And if I wanted to watch one of my beloved weekly sit-coms on TV, I had to wait until they were done and a respectful interval of time had passed. Then I'd meekly ask my auntie, "Can I watch TV? " &nbsp; Grandma's house always had cobwebs in the corners, but it was never dusty.
Her guest room and her extra blankets smelled faintly of liniments like eucaplytus or tiger balm... She kept a plastic flower mirror that I was really fond of for its simple charm. She also had an enlarged school picture of me that my parents gave her when I was in pre-school. My cousins teased me merciliessly for the immortalized trickle of snot&nbsp;streaming from my nose... My grandma was the smallest adult I knew and I remember feeling really proud of myself when I surpassed her height in the 3rd or 4th grade. &nbsp; Every Sunday my mom would drive my brother and I down to visit, and each week at the end of our visit, she would send us home with pouches of Capri Sun and other treats.
And when I said goodbye to her she would make me wait as she pulled out a couple of dollar bills from her purse and hand them to me. I was a&nbsp;shy, sensitive,&nbsp;crybaby twat kid. No one ever gave me money (paper money, even! ) for no reason. My grandma thought I was aaalright. &nbsp; My grandma was aaalright. Cam on, Ba . Rest in Peace. 
