Today would have been my grandfather’s birthday.

Papa Mac passed away 25 years ago when I was 17 years old and a senior in high school. I still remember my dad sitting my sister and me down in the living room to tell us. It might have been the first time I had ever seen him cry.

It doesn’t seem possible that it was that long ago. Twenty-five years is long enough to forget a lot of things, but it’s also long enough to realize which memories never fade.

Memories like going camping, where my dad and Papa Mac would load my sister and me into that old green truck with the camper on the back. We’d drive up to the lake, get our campsite set up, sit around the campfire, fish along the shoreline, and tell stories while we waited for the fish to bite.

Other times we’d be at my grandparents’ house, sitting on the back patio as Papa Mac taught us to play checkers. His famous phrase was always, “Touch man, move man.”

One of my favorite memories is of Papa Mac coming to watch me play baseball. He had emphysema and was on oxygen, so he couldn’t walk over to the fields. Instead, he’d park on the street overlooking them and watch through his binoculars. Standing at second base, I’d turn around between pitches and see him sitting there.

The one thing all of these memories have in common is his presence—but also the quiet.

Papa Mac wasn’t a man of many words. He wore hearing aids, and because they amplified all the sounds around him, he would often turn them off.

Instead of talking, I got to watch him.

I watched him meticulously sort through his fishing gear, explaining what everything was for. I watched him count out the pills he needed each day while letting me put them into his pill organizer. He watched me copy comic strips from the newspaper, helped me assemble school projects, and patiently listened while I babbled on about whatever happened to be on my mind.

He may not be with us anymore, and he never got the chance to meet his great-grandchildren, but the lessons he taught, the stories he told, and the pocket knives he passed down have all become part of the story I now share with my boys—the lore of Papa Mac.

Just a few weeks ago, we were hiking when I came across a plaque explaining that the trails had been built by the California Conservation Corps, a group my grandfather joined after moving to California. It was one of those unexpected reminders that his influence still surrounds me.

His memory lives on through me—and all around me.

We don’t realize it when we’re kids.

We don’t realize our grandparents won’t always be there.

We think of them as eternal. We think they’ll be there for graduations, birthdays, weddings, and holidays. In reality, we’re fortunate if they get to experience even a few of those moments with us. Some people never get to share any of them with their grandparents at all.

Today would have been his birthday.

He would have been 112 years old.

When I was a kid, I was certain he’d live that long.

As an adult, I know what’s really important.

I want Brooks and Joseph to get as much time with my dad as I got with my grandfathers, because one day those ordinary moments will become the stories they tell their own children.

In honor of Papa Mac’s birthday, I wanted to share a song I wrote about him.

Happy Birthday, Papa Mac.

I Still Carry Him With Me

Verse 1

Sitting on the shore, casting into the air
Lines in the water, memories made there
Telling stories as the campfire burned
Passed down that knife, a history learned

Verse 2

Out on the patio, checkers on the board
He watched in silence as my hands moved forward
Before my turn he’d say, “touch man, move man”
Then let me choose and helped me understand

Verse 3

Playing second base, waiting on the next pitch
Turned towards the street cause that’s where he’d sit
In the car, he had his binoculars framed
Watching every inning of my game

Chorus

His words were soft and few
He quietly showed me the way
Learning what I was meant to do
I still carry him with me today

Bridge

Never knew how much I’d miss those moments
The time we spent and the stories we told
I still think of him when I’m sitting alone
And cherish those memories as treasures I hold

Final Chorus

His words were soft and few
He quietly showed me the way
Learning what I was meant to do
I still carry him with me today