Saturday, January 26, 2008
SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
I was surprised by a visitor this past week ……and it was a pleasant surprise. Rocky’s grandson, Zach, who is stationed near Little Rock drove up to spend a few days off with me. Now some of you will hear what I’m saying….when I say nothing perks a granny up more than a visit from one of the grandchildren. This was especially nice as Zach and his parents live in Southern California and we don’t see each other often.
Well, we never know what the Air Force or other Services will do but after being in Germany (I believe) around 2 years….then somewhere at a Base near the Persian Gulf, he ended up in Arizona. For some reason he was sent to Little Rock, AR for around 3 months which is only a 4-hour drive from here. He will be there until March, then return to AZ where he will complete his Tour of Duty soon after.
Zach loves pizza so we had pizza almost around the clock. Becky is close behind with her capacity for pizza……so guess what the menu was for the time he was here? If you say anything other than pizza you would be wrong. Just like Rocky, he likes it plain….cheese, meat and crust….and often. Easy to please. In fact, his eating choices were like Rocky every time. It was amazing to see the strong genetic map in Zach that comes from his grampa.
It was my desire to show Zach where the Rockenbach farm is, the school we both attended and where grampa worked, to give him some idea of his roots. Zach took a lot of pictures of each place and will have a visual reminder of all he saw. We went to the gym where Rocky did his weightlifting and Zach took pictures of the Memory Wall where Rocky’s picture and some of his achievements hang. Like Rocky, Zach loved the sport of wrestling and felt at home in the gym atmosphere. I got a picture of Craig (the owner) and Zach in front of the Memory Wall and Zach took some close-ups of the Wall.
It’s sad that Zach wasn’t around Rocky much growing up…..I told him a lot of “grampa stories” to give him an idea of the man grampa was. But Rocky had the pleasure of being in Zach’s life a little after he joined the Air Force and did his training at Fort Leonard Wood which is only an hour and a half away from us. Rocky and I were the only family who could go to see Zach graduate and Rocky was very proud to be the one to “pin” Zach at the end of the ceremony.
Zach pretty much left the US a boy but came home a man. Four years pretty well put the finishing touches on him in the Service which gave him a lot of confidence. Soon he will stand at the crossroads where he will go to college or to whatever opportunities await him. One thing I know, he will make good choices and he will give them his best effort. The world is at your feet, Zach! God speed.
Essentially Esther
Well, we never know what the Air Force or other Services will do but after being in Germany (I believe) around 2 years….then somewhere at a Base near the Persian Gulf, he ended up in Arizona. For some reason he was sent to Little Rock, AR for around 3 months which is only a 4-hour drive from here. He will be there until March, then return to AZ where he will complete his Tour of Duty soon after.
Zach loves pizza so we had pizza almost around the clock. Becky is close behind with her capacity for pizza……so guess what the menu was for the time he was here? If you say anything other than pizza you would be wrong. Just like Rocky, he likes it plain….cheese, meat and crust….and often. Easy to please. In fact, his eating choices were like Rocky every time. It was amazing to see the strong genetic map in Zach that comes from his grampa.
It was my desire to show Zach where the Rockenbach farm is, the school we both attended and where grampa worked, to give him some idea of his roots. Zach took a lot of pictures of each place and will have a visual reminder of all he saw. We went to the gym where Rocky did his weightlifting and Zach took pictures of the Memory Wall where Rocky’s picture and some of his achievements hang. Like Rocky, Zach loved the sport of wrestling and felt at home in the gym atmosphere. I got a picture of Craig (the owner) and Zach in front of the Memory Wall and Zach took some close-ups of the Wall.
It’s sad that Zach wasn’t around Rocky much growing up…..I told him a lot of “grampa stories” to give him an idea of the man grampa was. But Rocky had the pleasure of being in Zach’s life a little after he joined the Air Force and did his training at Fort Leonard Wood which is only an hour and a half away from us. Rocky and I were the only family who could go to see Zach graduate and Rocky was very proud to be the one to “pin” Zach at the end of the ceremony.
Zach pretty much left the US a boy but came home a man. Four years pretty well put the finishing touches on him in the Service which gave him a lot of confidence. Soon he will stand at the crossroads where he will go to college or to whatever opportunities await him. One thing I know, he will make good choices and he will give them his best effort. The world is at your feet, Zach! God speed.
Essentially Esther
