[legion]

My grandfather, the one that I knew, is still a towering figure in my mind. He was head of security at the Sears Tower the entire time Sears actually owned it. President Reagan put him on a anti-terrorism task force, as Reagan was strangely concerned with Muslim terrorists trying to take down tall buildings in the US. He was Irish, my grandmother was German. They bickered like an old married couple. They kind of reminded me of the parents on "Everybody Loves Raymond", but while my Grandmother and Grandfather traded barbs, there were lines they would NEVER cross (like directing any ill will at each other) and you could feel the love beneath the sparring. You'd often find my grandparents sitting quietly on the back porch, holding hands and watching the sunset, after a particularly spirited back and forth. He was a strong man, but he drew his strength from his deep relationship with my grandmother. When my grandmother succumbed to cancer in 2007, his demeanor changed. You could tell he was done. He missed my grandmother desperately. He yearned for joining her. I think he hoped for cancer and when he think he had it he kept it to himself. He was able to join my grandmother two years later. I imagine he wanted nothing more than to be with her.

My other grandfather I barely knew. I don't remember him, but I gather I was around 3 the last time I saw him when he attacked my father (his son) in the visiting room of the federal penitentiary in Lincoln, IL. He was in prison for murdering my grandmother. My grandmother decided to divorce him for sleeping around. He was unemployed. She supported him. He spent his time getting drunk, beating his children, beating his wife, and chasing women. I'm pretty sure he was bipolar as my father and sister are. He decided to murder his wife before the divorce was final, I imagine rage fueled by equal parts alcoholism and bipolar disorder. His legacy is that there is a law in Illinois that you cannot claim the assets of a spouse if you murder them. He died of cancer in prison. As far as I know, there was no funeral.