T w e n t y S i d e d
There’s a gag from the early seasons of the Simpsons where Groundskeeper Willie – needing to enter the school vents for reasons that aren’t worth getting into – goes to the lunch lady, tears off his shirt, and orders her to, “Grease me up woman!”. Without his shirt we can see the cantankerous but otherwise unassuming groundskeeper is absolutely ripped.
This joke always reminded me of my stepfather Dave, and vice-versa. In 1985, I was distracted from my programming by a steady thumping sound coming from just outside. I looked out the window to see Dave, shirtless, axe in hand, vigorously slamming away at a low tree stump. He’d accidentally grazed it with the mower one too many times, and he’d decided to get rid of it. I’d known him since 1983, but it wasn’t until this moment that I realized how fit my stepdad was.
Dave died yesterday, in the early hours of Sunday morning, after a long battle with emphysema. He was 68.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Groundskeeper Dave”
