My grandfather was an alcoholic who was cheating on my grandmother and abusive towards my father and his younger bother. They were the last kids in the house as the rest had grown up and left by this time. When my dad was 12, he came home drunk and started beating the shit out of my grandma. My dad thought he was going to kill her, so he grabbed a poker from the fireplace and smashed him in the head. Knocked him out and split his head open. They carried him into the bath tub and left him there. When he woke up, he did not remember anything and they told him that he was drunk and fell. The abuse continued. My grandpa once took a hot spatula from the grill and smacked the youngest child in the face with it. Burned his face and now my uncle has a spatula mark on his face where hair wont grow, so his 5oclock shadow looks like a spatula. Too many stories I have heard. My dad ended up leaving home at 15 and leaving his younger brother there, a guilt my dad still carries with him to some degree. My grandpa ended up marrying the slut he was sleeping with.

I didn't ever meet my grandpa until my dad decided his kids should know their grandfather and my dad made contact after years of no contact. We visit when I was about 12 for the first time. The slut and my grandpa had discovered god and made their peace with him without ever acknowledging the damage they caused our family. And the slut wanted me to call her grandma, but that was not going to happen. She actually would act hurt when some of the grandchildren would not call her grandma.I knew my grandpa was an ass, so I never really connected with him. But regardless, I am glad that my dad made some peace with the situation and included my sister and I in their life a little bit before he died. The grandpa I knew was drinker and a pipe smoker. Well off, much more well off than my poor grandma that raised 8 kids. But he was nice to me. He lived in a tourist type area and he was influential. So he would give us VIP passes that would allow us to do all the tourist things for free and eat discounted meals and stuff. Even lift tickets were free. I guess that was his way of making amends. That and god. I think the slut is still alive, but I am not sure.