Quote Originally Posted by Karen View Post
My Dad never got cranky, and he lived to be 83. He never lost his basic demeanor, he might have a bad moment now and then, when he'd err on the side of honesty rather than being polite, but that was usually when he was very sick, and dealing with daft folks.

In general, i have found that old age tends to distill a person's basic personality in many cases - they become more extreme examples of what they always were.
This is true. While I never met my dads father, I believe he is exactly like him. And he wasn't very fond of his father either. His dad always talked down to him, never used his name (and he's a junior), only called him Shorty or Stupid. So I think my dad tried very hard to not be like him while we were growing up. And now his true colors are shining through.