My great-grandfather Bernard Bradley was a very important man to me. He was kind, compassionate, generous, and very amusing. Unfortunately, he passed away in June 2010 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. This picture of Robert Frank has an uncanny resemblance to my great-grandfather Bradley.
A moment in my life that I will never forget is one time visiting my great-grandfather in hospice at Stella Maris in Timonium. It was heartbreaking to see him unable to remember who my family and I were and it was even more depressing to see he did not even recognize himself. I was extremely surprised, though, when my great-grandfather looked at me and said “Where’s that dollar you owe me?” This is a joke he said to me every time he saw me, even though I didn’t think it was that funny. I was completely taken aback and excited that he knew who I was and remembered that joke even though he could not recognize a picture of his wife. Even though it seems like something trivial, it really meant a lot to me. My great-grandfather went through so much in his life and I have so many memories of the tragedies he endured. I will always have the image of him breaking down and crying over the casket holding my great-grandmother when she died in 2005. He was a very tough man, a naval officer, and a long-time semi-pro football coach. Nobody expected him to be so devastated. Because I have bad memories like this one it feels so nice to have a good one, especially at the end of his life. I will always remember the day he told me that joke and I could show you the exact spot we were when he said it. The picture of Robert Frank brings back the memory of my great-grandfather, a man I will never forget.
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