Dear Grandpa,

Here is a 270-word dedication to you.

Not many people can claim to remember when they first met their grandfather.

And to be honest, neither can I.

But the image of the grandfather I know – the paternal one who lives with my family – has always been one of a healthy, fit man who takes on multiple roles in the family such as handyman, cook, driver and nagger.

Having lived with my grandfather my entire life, I had never associated the word ‘grandfather’ with old or sickly considering the fact that my grandfather leads a healthier lifestyle than the whole of my junk food-eating, couch-potato family, but rather with useful, stable, at times irritating, and yes, bald.

So it was quite a shock for me when I first visited my maternal grandfather in Germany where he resides, a polar opposite of my paternal grandfather – arthritic, sickly, hard of hearing and eyesight and with a dulled mental capacity.

It was only then that I realized the true rarity of a grandfather like mine, who has lived to a ripe old age of 77 but who still returns home beaming with tales of how the neighbors or coffeeshop hawkers believed him to be below 60, who has almost perfect eyesight and a sharp memory to remember everyone who ever crossed him by, who has jokingly been predicted to outlive the whole family.

So to my grandfather, I would like to thank you for being a solid rock in the family, a constant dependable presence and a positive example of what a healthy diet and exercise could do.

What are a few fake teeth in the large scale of general health?