Partner in Crime

On July 30, 1948 (exactly 60 years ago) professional wrestling premiers on prime-time network TV.

My nana (maternal grandfather) loved watching professional wrestling. It was always funny to watch him watch it. Imagine a 70+ man getting worked up over wrestling. And then imagine him doing these weird hand gestures while watching it and laughing a toothless laugh. Hilarious time. Whenever we used to take the remote from him and change the channel, he would tell us to put it back and invite us to watch it with him. Sometimes we did. (We meaning his grandkids).

Sadly he passed away four months ago. We lost him to cancer. Saddest day of my life. My nana was one of those people that you never thought would die. Not that I thought he was immortal, but he was just one of those people that I thought would be around forever.

I'm not writing this post to talk about the sad times though. Nor do I want to be morbid in any way, shape, or form. I'm not thinking about the should'ves, woud'ves, or could'ves. I was just thinking about him and the happy and fun times shared with him and the professional wrestling thing made me think of him. Yes I miss him, but I dont think he would have wanted any of us to be sorrowful and miserable without him here. I think about him frequently and pray for him.And that's what my family and I try to do. We try to cope as best as we could and send our prayers upon and to him. I've found that my siblings and I talk about him on a daily basis. He used to do the funniest and most outrageous things. He asked me what kind of guy I wanted to marry. I told him, "I want a guy who will let me kick my feet up and do all of the housework for me." As old as he was, he was never the type of man who was stuck on traditional values (You know the ones that claim that women should cook and clean, and stay at home. Lots of older generation people think like this. Not all, but quite a few.) When he heard my response, he couldnt stop laughing, and told me that he would start looking right away. He wanted the best for his grandchildren. He always asked about my schooling and work. He encouraged all of the women in our family to continue our education for as long as we wanted. During the hot summer days, he never wanted to stay inside the house where the air conditioner was. He liked sitting in the sun and sweating. One time he was walking around my neighborhood and these two adoloscent boys were riding their bikes and made a rude comment. He picked up rocks from the ground and started throwing it at them. He used to always give the Adhaan (call to prayer) in our house. Actually he used to do it in any house he was staying at. When it was time for Fajr (1st prayer of the five daily prayers that Muslims observe, usually prayed at the beginning of dawn), he would be the first one awake. He would yell at all of us that were still sleeping and wouldn't stop yelling until we were awake. He had a keen interest in meeting all of my friends. And once he did meet them at my brother's wedding, he asked about them all the time.

He used to break out in random songs and sometimes even start dancing. He was a hilarious and wonderful man. My true partner in crime. May God give him peace in the hereafter and grant him Heaven. Ameen.