One of the most significant person that can relate to this is my grandfather, Juan Saldivar. He has been through it all, he served through World War II, witnessed many people die in front of him, and lost his wife, Felicita Saldivar, after being married for over 40 years.
My mother would tell me stories of how he would stay quiet due to the tragedy of the war. Even 20 years after the war, he would still have many flashbacks and would stay notably quiet. When my mother was born in 1962, both grandparents already had two children before her, and they would tell her that he would go outside and sit on the porch. Rethinking about his time during the war. Occasionally, he would come in and talk to his children how much he loves them and how he cares for them.
One of the most tragic things that could have happened to my grandfather is when he lost both his sight and his ability to hear. During his time in Japan, he lost his hearing to a faulty missile testing and later on he starting losing his sight and after 16 years he was blinded. He needs a hearing aid to hear and can only see around the corner of his eyes. In 2001, he lost his only love to a ferocious battle with a tumor in her brain. For the next 3 months, he stayed quiet. For course I was a child and had no recolection of these occurances.
I love my grandfather. He is currently living in my house and we take care of him. He always wants to go outside to be alone and think of the good times he has had over the past 91 years he has been on this Earth. He is silent most of the time, but he always says a good joke or story to keep everyone happy. Maybe all those silent times he's had really molded him into someone else.
