The Stories I Never Asked My Grandpa
And Why That Regret Became Something I Couldn’t Ignore
He had a salty tongue, drank more than he should, and was as colorful a character as you could imagine. He could tell some tales—stories so vivid and entertaining that I never quite knew whether they were tall tales or the truth, but they were always worth listening to. He was born in 1901 and passed in 1979. He never served in the military, not by choice, but because he had no sense of smell and was deemed unfit to serve his country.
After his wife passed, he became something of a nomad, following our family as my parents were transferred from place to place in the oil business. Eventually, life settled for a time in West Texas. When my parents were transferred again—this time to Houston—it was just me, my brother, and my grandfather during the final year of his life.
I was 20 years old when he passed, and I was one of the first to find him.
That moment has stayed with me.
And so has the regret.
Because of all the stories I never asked him to tell.
At the time, I didn’t think much about it.
You assume there will always be more time.
More conversations.
More chances to ask the questions that matter.
But life doesn’t work that way.
The stories go with them.
And once they’re gone… they’re gone.
Today, I feel that gap more than ever.
There are things I will never know:
What his childhood was really like.
What shaped him.
What he believed.
What he carried through life that I never saw.
And because of that, there is a part of my family’s story that ends with him.
Not because it had to…
But because no one captured it.
That regret is what led me to create these journals.
Not as a product.
But as a way to prevent that same loss for someone else.
Because most people don’t realize what they’re missing…
Until it’s too late.
These journals are simply a way to slow down and ask:
The questions that matter.
The stories that shaped a life.
The memories that deserve to be passed on.
If you still have your grandpa…
You still have time.
Time to ask.
Time to listen.
Time to capture what would otherwise be lost.
You don’t need perfect questions.
You just need to start.
👉 Explore the Grandpa Journal:
https://scatcatmedia.com/books#grandpajournal
Capture it. Preserve it. Pass it down.
