THEMISCHMAN
SGT Hulka
When I read the post about Jim's grandfather battling with Alzheimer's disease, I got to thinking of my grandfather and all the fond memories I had of the time we spent together and all the things he taught me. I though this would be a good place to reminisce about loved ones, both past and present, and the impact they've had on us.
Bill Hendricks grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He would be 103 years old if he was still alive today. As a young man he was a Golden Gloves boxer and even went to high school with Jesse Owens. He was a very educated man, albeit most of his education came from the streets. Bill was a butcher by trade, as well as, a successful business owner. He ran a small grocery store in our neighborhood, everyone knew Bill and he knew everyone else. I always enjoyed his stories about the few people who "tried" to "hold up" the store. It comes as quite a surprise and a sobering experience to a would be robber to be met with a snub nosed .38 and a promise to "Kill you if I ever see you in my store again". It wasn't easy to get the jump on gramps.
I love watching him butcher meat. He was like an artist and took great pride in the fact that one could get better meat from his small convenience store than they could at the large grocery store but a few blocks away.
Every deer season dozens of people would ask him to process their deer. He had a great setup in his garage and made some of the best deer sausage I have ever ate. I loved being around and helping him.
He loved boxing and because of that so did I. He would always buy the pay per view fights and insist I invite all my buddies over to watch the fights. The one fight I really remember was the Tyson vs Holyfield fight. That was the one when Tyson bit Evander's ear. He would always tell me, "That Tyson isn't a boxer, he's a brawler."
Every summer grandpa made it a point to go on some sort of vacation. He bought a travel trailer and we would go to a camp ground near Lake Erie for a few weeks. We took trips to places like New Orleans and we walked Bourbon Street together. We went to the Grand Ole Opry, San Diego, Tiajuana, Las Vegas. Vegas was great even though I was too young to appreciate it for what it really was. I say, was, because it was the Vegas of old, before all the old casinos were torn down and the new ones were built. I remember being in heaven when I first went into Circus Circus. One of the greatest trips we ever went on was our trip to Europe. We traveled through Italy, Spain, and Switzerland by train. It was an amazing experience and I will never forget it.
He always tried to pass on knowledge to me. His biggest saying was "Always have your money make money for you." He always taught me to "pay yourself first," meaning I should put at least 10% of whatever I made aside before I did anything else with that money. He taught me that there is no such thing as a fair fight.
I wrote more but my phone died before I could save it so I will leave it at this.
Bill, I will forever miss you and you will live forever in my heart.
Thanks for listening.
Bill Hendricks grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He would be 103 years old if he was still alive today. As a young man he was a Golden Gloves boxer and even went to high school with Jesse Owens. He was a very educated man, albeit most of his education came from the streets. Bill was a butcher by trade, as well as, a successful business owner. He ran a small grocery store in our neighborhood, everyone knew Bill and he knew everyone else. I always enjoyed his stories about the few people who "tried" to "hold up" the store. It comes as quite a surprise and a sobering experience to a would be robber to be met with a snub nosed .38 and a promise to "Kill you if I ever see you in my store again". It wasn't easy to get the jump on gramps.
I love watching him butcher meat. He was like an artist and took great pride in the fact that one could get better meat from his small convenience store than they could at the large grocery store but a few blocks away.
Every deer season dozens of people would ask him to process their deer. He had a great setup in his garage and made some of the best deer sausage I have ever ate. I loved being around and helping him.
He loved boxing and because of that so did I. He would always buy the pay per view fights and insist I invite all my buddies over to watch the fights. The one fight I really remember was the Tyson vs Holyfield fight. That was the one when Tyson bit Evander's ear. He would always tell me, "That Tyson isn't a boxer, he's a brawler."
Every summer grandpa made it a point to go on some sort of vacation. He bought a travel trailer and we would go to a camp ground near Lake Erie for a few weeks. We took trips to places like New Orleans and we walked Bourbon Street together. We went to the Grand Ole Opry, San Diego, Tiajuana, Las Vegas. Vegas was great even though I was too young to appreciate it for what it really was. I say, was, because it was the Vegas of old, before all the old casinos were torn down and the new ones were built. I remember being in heaven when I first went into Circus Circus. One of the greatest trips we ever went on was our trip to Europe. We traveled through Italy, Spain, and Switzerland by train. It was an amazing experience and I will never forget it.
He always tried to pass on knowledge to me. His biggest saying was "Always have your money make money for you." He always taught me to "pay yourself first," meaning I should put at least 10% of whatever I made aside before I did anything else with that money. He taught me that there is no such thing as a fair fight.
I wrote more but my phone died before I could save it so I will leave it at this.
Bill, I will forever miss you and you will live forever in my heart.
Thanks for listening.
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