In reading the long history of posts last night. and the "In Memory" section.. a great friend was mentioned and I'd like to take a minute to remember him.
Alan Grandy and I grew up 3 houses from each other and met in the summer between Kindergarten and 1st while we were riding our bikes in front of Wendy's house. Our friendship was consistent through 12th grade...we each seemed to have our own group of fiends at school....and then we always seemed to be together playing guitar, listening to his Dad's Black Sabbath or SRV albums in his basement, playing pool and pinball.....geesh...his Dad actually had this pinball machine.
There were a few things Al really loved: - Baseball.....and card collecting for sure. - Board games - Star Wars, Risk, Scrabble - Motorcycles - ok....not that great of a rider..but good enough to have a metal plate surgically implanted to fix his forearm. - Partying :) Oh the stories of us at 14 make me cringe as my kids get older. - Guitar: Al and I both started playing acoustic in like 5th grade. 6th grade talent show we played the Beatles 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and had NO clue it was a drugged out tune. Al played a red Yahama electric strat with a small Peavy amp (amp sounded awful!). The first song we both learned to play on electric together in tandem was Ace's High by Iron Maiden woo hoo!
- Bands: In Jr high Al was playing with area musicians Tim Dunn....and I wish I remember the name of the other guys. Once Al moved out to Hemlock...he played with a couple guys out there as well where we cranked out the Metallica tunes.
- Fights: Al had the macho side of him and there were a couple of throw-downs that he was in. I remember him and Paul "Beaver" Toth gettin into it....I think Al was lucky they were so young when they got into it. Hmmm...Jason Harrington I think got into it with him as well.
- Jobs: Al worked even as a kid. His parents made wood furniture and he always had to go home to sand something....like 100's of wooden purse handles. @16 Al worked for a while over at McDonald's in Shields. Al went to MSU and during the summer breaks for a few years he worked at a Hotel in Buffalo NY...he was quite interested in Hotel / Rest Mgt. Al finally settled into the financial scene after graduating and took a job with Olde Discount Brokers. (EDIT) - Oh yea...we both worked over at Green Acres Cinema in 87....and then both at Radio Shack....but he was at the Fashion Sq Mall location.
- Trouble with the Law: All I will say are the following words: Fire, Cornfield, Pam Jozwiak's dad, police car, grounded. He certainly was punished by his parents worse than the rest of us for that day.
- As a kid Al would tell me that he was an atheist. Later in life he had a partner named Ronda and their future together seemed to be coming together ...and the atheist started doing things with her like..going to church.
- Al is the Godfather of my first born daughter Haley Alexis. She still on occasion wears the gold crucifix necklace he gave to her as a baby.
- Al passed in December of 1996. He always managed an allergy to nuts and always was prepared with an inhaler for his occasional asthma attacks. The story is, he walked home from the bar in Lansing and stopped off to order a pizza. While waiting he ate a cookie....and the thought is that it must have had peanut oil in it because he really watched out for nuts. The details from there are sketchy other than he went outside and collapsed....and rumors were that because of the location of the store between 2 municipalities there was some delay in emergency reponse.
- Al's Mom and Dad (Deb and Arman) still live in Hemlock on the farm. Infact, that is where Al is laid to rest.
We will never know what people really remember about us when we are gone, but I'm glad I remember him.
Jamie I'm really sorry for your loss. I'm also thankful you shared some of your friendship highlights w/ us. I have lived in Hemlock since 1995 passed Grandy farm hundreds of times thought about Alan every time and never knew that was his parents home. I have a few stories I'd like to share however, they dont compare to Jamie's. I was very touched by his. I moved to Shields in the fourth grade and didn't know anyone. short version... this little wheezing kid was sweet to me and a new friend from my first day there. My first secret admire left me a pretty bubblegum machine ring in my coat pocket (we didn't have lockers then they just hung on hooks in the hall) a little love letter with it. I wish I'd kept it. I had no clue who it was from for the longest time,it was such a pretty pink stone well... peice of plastic. anyways, I was a complete tomboy so I wouldn't wear it but I kept it in my coat pocket for weeks still not knowing from who. then one day I caught him in my coat pocket (G next to H) and it dawned on me, he saw me and took a note out of my pocket and would'nt let me have it but did fess up on the pink jewel. I still wonder what the note said. 3years later I was continuously at my friend Cheryl Yursco's house down the road from that same little wheezing kid's house (jamie's too)anyways, wheezers friend terry oldeck (I think thats it)and us girls some how started playing truth or dare in the Yursco's camper (broad daylight people) teri dared alan to kiss me on the lips one second and the next he did and the following second we were playing tag with the neighborhood gang. sorry no corn field fires involved Jamie. thankyou my sweet wheezer for being my friend Kelly Haynes Meier
Jamie Colpean
In reading the long history of posts last night. and the "In Memory" section.. a great friend was mentioned and I'd like to take a minute to remember him.Alan Grandy and I grew up 3 houses from each other and met in the summer between Kindergarten and 1st while we were riding our bikes in front of Wendy's house. Our friendship was consistent through 12th grade...we each seemed to have our own group of fiends at school....and then we always seemed to be together playing guitar, listening to his Dad's Black Sabbath or SRV albums in his basement, playing pool and pinball.....geesh...his Dad actually had this pinball machine.
There were a few things Al really loved:
- Baseball.....and card collecting for sure.
- Board games - Star Wars, Risk, Scrabble
- Motorcycles - ok....not that great of a rider..but good enough to have a metal plate surgically implanted to fix his forearm.
- Partying :) Oh the stories of us at 14 make me cringe as my kids get older.
- Guitar: Al and I both started playing acoustic in like 5th grade. 6th grade talent show we played the Beatles 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and had NO clue it was a drugged out tune. Al played a red Yahama electric strat with a small Peavy amp (amp sounded awful!). The first song we both learned to play on electric together in tandem was Ace's High by Iron Maiden woo hoo!
- Bands: In Jr high Al was playing with area musicians Tim Dunn....and I wish I remember the name of the other guys. Once Al moved out to Hemlock...he played with a couple guys out there as well where we cranked out the Metallica tunes.
- Fights: Al had the macho side of him and there were a couple of throw-downs that he was in. I remember him and Paul "Beaver" Toth gettin into it....I think Al was lucky they were so young when they got into it. Hmmm...Jason Harrington I think got into it with him as well.
- Jobs: Al worked even as a kid. His parents made wood furniture and he always had to go home to sand something....like 100's of wooden purse handles. @16 Al worked for a while over at McDonald's in Shields. Al went to MSU and during the summer breaks for a few years he worked at a Hotel in Buffalo NY...he was quite interested in Hotel / Rest Mgt. Al finally settled into the financial scene after graduating and took a job with Olde Discount Brokers.
(EDIT) - Oh yea...we both worked over at Green Acres Cinema in 87....and then both at Radio Shack....but he was at the Fashion Sq Mall location.
- Trouble with the Law: All I will say are the following words: Fire, Cornfield, Pam Jozwiak's dad, police car, grounded. He certainly was punished by his parents worse than the rest of us for that day.
- As a kid Al would tell me that he was an atheist. Later in life he had a partner named Ronda and their future together seemed to be coming together ...and the atheist started doing things with her like..going to church.
- Al is the Godfather of my first born daughter Haley Alexis. She still on occasion wears the gold crucifix necklace he gave to her as a baby.
- Al passed in December of 1996. He always managed an allergy to nuts and always was prepared with an inhaler for his occasional asthma attacks. The story is, he walked home from the bar in Lansing and stopped off to order a pizza. While waiting he ate a cookie....and the thought is that it must have had peanut oil in it because he really watched out for nuts. The details from there are sketchy other than he went outside and collapsed....and rumors were that because of the location of the store between 2 municipalities there was some delay in emergency reponse.
- Al's Mom and Dad (Deb and Arman) still live in Hemlock on the farm. Infact, that is where Al is laid to rest.
We will never know what people really remember about us when we are gone, but I'm glad I remember him.
Jamie Colpean
Kelly Haynes (Meier)
Jamie I'm really sorry for your loss. I'm also thankful you shared some of your friendship highlights w/ us. I have lived in Hemlock since 1995 passed Grandy farm hundreds of times thought about Alan every time and never knew that was his parents home. I have a few stories I'd like to share however, they dont compare to Jamie's. I was very touched by his.I moved to Shields in the fourth grade and didn't know anyone. short version... this little wheezing kid was sweet to me and a new friend from my first day there. My first secret admire left me a pretty bubblegum machine ring in my coat pocket (we didn't have lockers then they just hung on hooks in the hall) a little love letter with it. I wish I'd kept it. I had no clue who it was from for the longest time,it was such a pretty pink stone well... peice of plastic. anyways, I was a complete tomboy so I wouldn't wear it but I kept it in my coat pocket for weeks still not knowing from who. then one day I caught him in my coat pocket (G next to H) and it dawned on me, he saw me and took a note out of my pocket and would'nt let me have it but did fess up on the pink jewel. I still wonder what the note said.
3years later I was continuously at my friend Cheryl Yursco's house down the road from that same little wheezing kid's house (jamie's too)anyways, wheezers friend terry oldeck (I think thats it)and us girls some how started playing truth or dare in the Yursco's camper (broad daylight people) teri dared alan to kiss me on the lips one second and the next he did and the following second we were playing tag with the neighborhood gang. sorry no corn field fires involved Jamie. thankyou my sweet wheezer for being my friend
Kelly Haynes Meier