Otha Lee Sanderlin – A Memoir in the Making

In late February of 2010, my mother and I got in the car and raced down to Lake Placid, Florida to see my grandpa – Otha Lee Sanderlin – who was in the death grips of esophageal cancer. The family patriarch, our hero, who was once the strongest and sturdiest of all men, was now minimized by a poison which had grabbed him by the throat and refused to let go. Though he fought with the stubbornness of a hundred mule, endured torturous treatment, and let surgeons cut on him, in the end there was nothing we could do to keep Sandy with us.

Though his final days and eventual death were tragically painful, I was given an unexpected gift through his passing that has brought me a glimmer hope, and an understanding of who I truly am. Mere hours before his death he found a way to bring us joy, to bring us uncontainable laughter, and a dose of hope from heaven.

As a tribute to the one-of-a-kind man that we lost 5 years ago this March, and because I want to make my Otha proud, I want to write his story… his incredible, unfathomable, unforgettable story. From the beginning to the very end.

We all loved to hear him tell those stories. The room would go quiet as soon as he’d start in about that time when… We’d sit around him for hours and listen in rapt attention as he orated his incredible life. We all felt cheerful, more whole, and proud to be his family when he was near.

You always wanted me to be a hairdresser, grandpa, but I was born to be a writer, and I couldn’t be more honored to write your memoir as my first project. I wish you were still here so we could sit around the table and chat about your life. I wish you were still here so you could play the keyboard for us and sing Sinatra. I wish you were still here so you could be an amazing great-grandad to my future kids. I just wish you were still here. But since you’re not with us in flesh and blood, I’ll do the next best thing I can think to do. I’ll run after all of the memories that made you “you”, and I’ll place them safely between a front and back cover.

Honestly, I don’t know how long it will take – or what it will take – to put Otha’s life on paper. Whatever it ends up being, I’ll be sure to chronicle it here on The Plated Poet.

I really cannot wait to get started.

Otha is the cute blonde boy on the right

Otha as a “rugged” and very young marine

This is my version of Otha – this is the man I knew and loved as Grandpa.