The Watch

When my grandpa graduated high school in 1940, his parents gave him a beautiful gold wristwatch (the watch was a Bulova brand watch, so it was the "top of the line"). Grandpa was very disappointed in the gift, and in a not-so-subtle way Grandpa let his parents know how disappointed he was to have not received a car (which is what he was hoping to receive for his graduation). In Grandpa's words, he was a real brat. That act of ingratitude has always been something that Grandpa has regretted. Grandpa had the opportunity to apologize several times, but his pride and embarrassment prevented him from doing so longer than it should've; however, he did finally apologize to his parents. (And when Grandpa came home from serving in the war his dad did buy him a car; a maroon, four-door 1945 Nash Ambassador that Grandpa said resembled an upside down bathtub.)

At the reunion Grandpa told us the story of the watch and urged any of us that might have regrets to make them right before it's too late. I took a video of Grandpa telling the story, so click here if you're interested in hearing the story from my grandpa in his own words. (In the video Grandpa gets the brand of the watch confused and he mistakenly called it an Elgin watch, but at the end of the video Grandma sets Grandpa straight and tells him the brand of the watch is actually a Bulova.)