My hero

When I was little, my grandparents would take my sister and me out on little day trips on the weekends. I remember going to the Bass Pro Shop, and then they would take us out to eat.

But, what was really special about these trips was my grandfather is he would make up a list of things we would have to watch for on our trips, like a yellow car, someone riding a bike, and some things that we might not see but things to make us laugh like an air balloon or a pink banana or a pig with a hat on. These were just games he would play with us to keep us from being bored or on our phones. My grandfather passed away a month ago, and my memories of him have become even more special to me.

One of my grandfather’s favorite things on our trips was yard sales; he would always remind us, “Keep an eye out for yard sales because you never know what we will find!” I remember one day when we stopped at a yard sale we found a pink banana; it was so cool. He loved to collect objects portraying fish; at Thanksgiving, we had a butter dish that was a fish.

One of the things I miss the most is his singing, and hearing him play the guitar and singing with him. I remember when I was little, he would try to teach us how to play the guitar. I was never one to play, but I always liked to hear him play. On the other hand, my sister loved to play. On the Fourth of July, we would go out to a friend's house and have a small party, and he would always play the guitar and sing; it was just one of the many things he was good at.

My favorite memories are when we would saddle up the horses and he would take us out for rides; he was the one who taught me and my sister how to ride and saddle up a horse.

When we first got the news that he had cancer, I was at my sister’s house. I didn't know at the time what kind of cancer it was, just that he had it — but, the funny thing was that he went in for a broken arm and that is how they found the cancer. If he would not have fallen and broken his arm, we would never have known that he was sick.

After a few appointments, we found out that it was bone cancer and that it was growing fast. By that time the cancer had already spread in his arm and his back, so they started chemo, but at that point, it didn't help. But, even when he was sick, his mind was still active. Even if he didn't know who I was, he would be thinking that he was building a house because that was his job before this, so his mind was on that all day.

After a few months, we had a lot of family and friends coming to help out; it was nice to see the family and meet his family I never had met before. It was very interesting to meet some of his old friends, talk to them and hear about him from a different perspective.

I write these words in loving memory of Allen Reed Martin, my grandfather and my hero.