My grandpa (his name was Myron “Hammer” Wierzba) was a very zany, generous, efficient, and helpful person. The reason why his nickname is Hammer is because he worked hard as an electrician in construction. He had short hair and a beard that was as white as snow. Most of the time he’s a little grumpy and likes to do what he wants, but he is friendly, funny, and kind. He also is thoughtful and willing to spend time with his children and grandchildren along with providing help whenever they need it. Another thing my grandpa did before he retired was he worked as a dump truck driver. Any task that Myron was given as a driver, he worked really hard at getting it done. Lastly, at home he helped out my grandma (Pauline) with buying groceries for her delicious cooking and any heavy lifting in the house.
Additionally, he would work in his garage on any-wood based or building projects, so he was quite the handyman. One of the projects that he did for my family was he made us a cedar picnic table. He’s one of the most hard working and determined beings I have ever seen. Whenever I go to my grandma and grandpa’s house I always see him in the garage just sitting there listening to polkas on the radio and smoking cigarettes. My grandpa would have ideas flowing one after the other, trying to think of things to do to keep himself busy. A part that I really liked about him was how helpful he can be. Any time when my dad or I shot a deer we called grandpa up to help pick up the deer with his truck. We knew he got to the hunting area when we could hear the sound of his truck rustling through the tall dried grass.
A surprising thing that I didn’t realize about my grandpa until I was 12 was that he fought in the Vietnam War. I learned this at Thanksgiving in 2018. It was a normal day and I was bored at my grandma’s house and I asked him a question. “When you were younger grandpa did you happen to fight in any wars?” I asked. He replied: “Yes I did, I served in the Vietnam War.” Before he told me his story, he got up and showed me his dog tags. He let me look at it and touch it as well. Then, my grandpa told me that he enlisted in the Army and became an explosive specialist. During the war, he described that his job was to operate and use explosives such as: grenades, mortars, C4 and land-mines. Myron used these combustible weapons to blow up enemy bridges and bunkers.
I had a very good and strong relationship with him. We both enjoyed watching 80s/90s action comedy movies together. Some of our favorite movies that we loved to watch constantly were Ghostbusters and Stripes. Those films were so hilarious it made us laugh our socks off. My grandpa and I both liked the delicious taste of black licorice, Mountain Dew and Sunny-D. Even though everybody else despised the taste of black licorice, it meant more for us then. A time that he was a big help to me was when my bedroom was being remodeled because of a leak in the wall. He heard about this and wanted to come help us out. Myron ended up installing the lighting and outlets in my room. I managed to help him out by placing white, heavy wall paneling into the wall after he was done with the outlets.
In conclusion, my grandpa meant a lot to me. He was a great role model, a person who knew what he was doing and how to do it. Myron has taught me how to work with my hands, how to operate construction tools and how to install christmas lights on a roof. Additionally, he told me that if you work real hard and believe in yourself. Then, you can become a successful individual.
