The past week has brought major changes in the way I see the world. First my grandpa died, and I have been forced to try to conceive of a world without Gunny. Then we elected Obama.
G was, in many ways, a strange character. He was full of contradictions, and if I had to pick a word that reminded me of him, "dichotomy" wouldn't be a bad way to go. He elicited equally mixed reactions in other people, but whatever you thought of him (and personally I both loved and admired him, flawed as he was), you have to admit he had a big personality, a big presence, and a big impact on his surroundings. To me, he always seemed rather like a force of nature: he sometimes brought peace and moments of real joy, sometimes chaos, even disaster, and he was always unstoppable.
I will miss him. He leaves a big hole. For now, though, I find solace in the knowledge that G may be physically gone, but it'll take a lot more than death to eradicate the the mark he left on the world. A Walker might even say that the G-force remains.
It'll be a long time before the world forgets Gunny.
And, just as this change has shifted the landscape of my world, the election of Obama has changed the landscape of the whole world. One skeptic of my acquaintance couldn't understand my excitement; "he hasn't done anything yet!" But he doesn't have to. Legislation will likely never have as big an impact on the economy as perception. And the difference in how the rest of the world sees us, and the way we see ourselves....
I'm excited for the future. I'm just sad G won't be here to see it.
Kearney
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