As I mentioned in the last post, lots of changes at MotoAmericano. Most importantly, my maternal grandfather passed away the day before I was supposed to be at the Overland Expo 2010 If you visit their site, and you should if you enjoy terrestrial touring, you can see that this year was a great success and they’re already planning for 2011. Although MotoAmericano will be in Brazil during the 2011 Expo, we wish them the best.
A few notes about my grandfather… As I knew him, he lived with Parkinson’s Disease. Diagnosed with it when I was 9, it was a part of his life for as far back as I have memories of him. Fortunately, it didn’t define him, and he was able to live independently with my Grandmother until the last year of his 91-year-long life.
He and my father worked together in sales, traveling Michigan to various factories and industrial plants that used their steam control products. Growing up, family trips often included a stop along my dad’s sales route as he visited clients in places like Three Rivers and Alpena, Michigan. After visiting all these clients for 50 years, at my Grandfather’s funeral it was their turn to visit him. People came from across the region, some having worked alongside him for the majority of those years, and others only having known him briefly as their careers began while my grandfather was retiring.
Taking time at the funeral to observe, it surprised me how many times I overheard laughter and caught people smiling as they shared stories about him. It seemed like the sort of funeral one would want to have – each of us heading back out into the world to share his optimism and positive outlook now that he was no longer able to do it himself.
I and MotoAmericano are thankful for the opportunity to be able to take him with us to the ends of the Earth.
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