Dziadek aka Grandpa Ted

My baby girls Polish Grandfather aka Dziadek to them passed away late in the afternoon on September 11th, 2009. Ted was a good man with a heart bigger than life for his daughter and all of his grandchildren. I’ll miss his quick wit and dry sense of humor that always had you doing a double look and laughing after you realized what he said. He had a tough fight his last days but his loving wife Marney was there by his side and cared for him till the end. My personal thanks go out to the visiting nurses and hospice people that worked so hard to keep him comfortable in his last days.

Telling three out of five daughters that their Dziadek had passed away was tough and I lost it at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of our family chat at the dinner table. I called my oldest daughter and lost it again. I did too many phone calls where my emotions just got the best of me. I loved the guy a lot and his passing hurts to the core. My wife and I may have separated but my relationship and affections for the man that was her father never were part of the separation. He was a good man, a good father, a great grandfather, a thoughtful friend, and always cheerful even though he was in pain for oh so many years.

I think he was an amazing man and I will always cherish the memories he took the time to build with and for his grandchildren. He wouldn’t miss a birthday celebration, Christmas gathering, Thanks Giving gathering, or his favorite event Easter dinner that he cooked himself. One huge ham that he special ordered that was always the best part of the meal. It was always a laugh as he cut and served the ham, some for the table, a sample for the chef, some for the table, a sample for the chef. Quality control was in his blood and he just had to make sure that every bite was just as delicious as the previous. Easter Sunday will never be the same again without him.

All I can say now is that I loved the guy, I’ll miss him, and I can only hope to be half the man he was. I’ll miss you Ted and so will all the girls from the Irish clan side of the Tuminski family that are so proud and loved to call their grandfather Dziadek. From all of your O’Keefe girls, Christine, Nicole, Kathryn, Shannon, Casey, and Hannah, you will always be loved and truly and sorely missed. Rest in peace Dziadek.

For my friend Ted and from my friend Mike...

Video Link



Your friend Matthew aka Papamoka

Remember the POW Bracelets From Vietnam

Why is it so hard to believe that a mother would give a bracelet to Barack Obama a Presidential candidate and ask him to wear it with pride. To ask him to remember the pain she feels with the loss of her son so other mothers will never feel the same pain. It was a request from a mother devastated by the loss of her son killed by an IED in Iraq to a man running for President that wants to end the war in Iraq. She is not a political operative as much as she is just a Mom first. Thinking of other mothers and the pain they would have gone through with the death of a child in Iraq. She is just a military Mom and that is all she is. Why is the right wing Blogosphere attacking a military Mom mourning the death of her son? Do they not remember the Veterans of Vietnam and the gauntlet they all faced coming home? It sounds like they only support Republican voting troops! Dead or alive! All you Democrat, moderate, and independent troops do not count?

Many people in the media picked this story up when Barack Obama countered John McCain in the recent debate with “I wear a bracelet too” response, but I wear it for a very different reason than you Senator McCain. Mom and Dad of the KIA military son are separated or divorced and that is another discussion for others to disgustingly blog about. It is not part of my article.

What is important is that a mother loved her son and thought of other peoples children and was fearful of how many more sons should not have to die in this war. A legitimate point. She isn’t running for President, her candidate is. Get off of her back! Over at the Chicago Tribune they have this to say on this strange dilema and attack on the mother of a dead soldier killed in Iraq…

Soldier's mom defends Obama's mention of bracelet
By DINESH RAMDE Associated Press Writer
6:37 PM CDT, September 28, 2008

MILWAUKEE - After Tracy Jopek gave Sen. Barack Obama a bracelet in honor of her son who was killed in Iraq, she asked Obama not to mention the bracelet on the campaign trail.

But Jopek told The Associated Press on Sunday that she's satisfied with how Obama discussed it during last week's presidential debate.

Jopek gave Obama the bracelet at a Green Bay rally in February. It has the name of her son, Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, and the date the 20-year-old was killed by a roadside bomb, Aug. 2, 2006. "All gave some -- He gave all," it says. - Chicago Tribune


I will be brutally honest with you. I have friends of mine from the Vietnam War era that still wear the bracelets of missing P.O.W.’s. Decades after the war has ended. They wear them with pride and honor. They do so to never forget them. It isn’t a campaign thing to do so or a stunt talking point for them, it is a brotherhood obligation. Google search Patriot Guard Riders or just click here and you will see where real veterans never forget. And they are joined by thousands of people that have never worn the uniform. Respectfully, and thankfully so. When the extreme right wing religious organizations damned all of our fallen troops to hell then that was just too much to swallow. America honors its fallen soldiers no matter why or where they were killed in action. They died serving our nation and gave the ultimate price. We can never forget that and we should not politicize it. They are all of our troops and a casket knows no political affiliation.

McCain came to the debate and this Presidential election with an empty suit of support for Veteran’s. Talk to any disabled Vet and you will get an earful of how McCain and President Bush have shafted them all over and over again. Too many Veteran organizations are voicing loud and clear against McCain because of his voting record in the Senate against Veteran’s. But it is still your vote.

Papamoka