In other news - my grandpa
My grandfather died back in 2002. He was 94 years old. I was lucky enough to have him in my life for almost 33 years. So I remember him very very well.
In 1957, before I was born, he was a survivor of the Riker's Island Plane Crash. My family never spoke much about it. But I recall my grandmother finding a picture of him in her drawer once when he was in the hospital. He had his head wrapped in bandages and when she saw the photo she scoffed "Why would anyone take a picture of THIS?" and shoved it back in her drawer. (She had a drawer full of mementos including cards we grandkids sent to her).
Anyway, a few weeks ago my niece was talking to her boyfriend about his fear of flying. She said to him "Don't worry. My great grandfather survived a plane crash. You'll be fine!" She started doing a search of the plane crash and discovered someone selling this newspaper clip on Ebay. It's a picture of my grandfather testifying about the incident, and he is about the same age there that T-Rex is now:
(click thumbnail if you want to read the print in the larger image)
Don't you know, I started crying so hard when I saw it. I spoke with my brother M about it later and the same things struck us about it. First was the bent pinky on his right hand and the burn scars that I didn't think of as burn scars as a kid. I remember touching his hand as a small child and trying to straighten his finger. The second is his age. There are literally no photos of my grandfather in middle age. We have some when they got married in the 1920s. And then loads of photos of my grandfather after his retirement. Realizing he was the same age as T-Rex and close to my age now gave me this odd slightly sad feeling. It's not just that I miss him. It's that seeing him in this previously unknown to us photo somehow brought back a part of him we hadn't seen in so long - him as a man who was not very very old. He was 62 when I was born, so even as a small child I got to see him grow older until his passing at 94. It also just made me think about T-Rex and I getting older and how I almost lost him at the same age my grandmother almost lost her husband. I know now how she must have felt in a very different way than ever before. (And FYI, he died 2 years after her passing).
Anyway, LJ seemed like the right place to post such a story. I'm just sorry it took me over a month to get around to posting it, life being so hectic and all. I hope it makes you think fondly of someone you've lost, flistees.
In 1957, before I was born, he was a survivor of the Riker's Island Plane Crash. My family never spoke much about it. But I recall my grandmother finding a picture of him in her drawer once when he was in the hospital. He had his head wrapped in bandages and when she saw the photo she scoffed "Why would anyone take a picture of THIS?" and shoved it back in her drawer. (She had a drawer full of mementos including cards we grandkids sent to her).
Anyway, a few weeks ago my niece was talking to her boyfriend about his fear of flying. She said to him "Don't worry. My great grandfather survived a plane crash. You'll be fine!" She started doing a search of the plane crash and discovered someone selling this newspaper clip on Ebay. It's a picture of my grandfather testifying about the incident, and he is about the same age there that T-Rex is now:
(click thumbnail if you want to read the print in the larger image)
Don't you know, I started crying so hard when I saw it. I spoke with my brother M about it later and the same things struck us about it. First was the bent pinky on his right hand and the burn scars that I didn't think of as burn scars as a kid. I remember touching his hand as a small child and trying to straighten his finger. The second is his age. There are literally no photos of my grandfather in middle age. We have some when they got married in the 1920s. And then loads of photos of my grandfather after his retirement. Realizing he was the same age as T-Rex and close to my age now gave me this odd slightly sad feeling. It's not just that I miss him. It's that seeing him in this previously unknown to us photo somehow brought back a part of him we hadn't seen in so long - him as a man who was not very very old. He was 62 when I was born, so even as a small child I got to see him grow older until his passing at 94. It also just made me think about T-Rex and I getting older and how I almost lost him at the same age my grandmother almost lost her husband. I know now how she must have felt in a very different way than ever before. (And FYI, he died 2 years after her passing).
Anyway, LJ seemed like the right place to post such a story. I'm just sorry it took me over a month to get around to posting it, life being so hectic and all. I hope it makes you think fondly of someone you've lost, flistees.