Happy 100th Birthday Grandpa!

Today is a momentous day for me and my family, however, not so much for my Grandpa. Today would have been my Grandpa’s 100th birthday — he missed out on it by exactly two years. While we know that he is in Heaven with my Grandma, we also know that it seems like just yesterday that we were saying Goodbye to him.

I’m sure that there are a lot of people of his generation that might think like I do, but I think my Grandpa was very similar in his nature to Walt Disney. Both men had significant upbringing in Small Town, U.S.A.; perhaps you might say they both grew up on Main Street, U.S.A.

Both men were mechanically inclined to some degree, my Grandpa worked on airplanes for his living, and while Walt Disney was more creatively minded, he was certainly not a slouch when it came to engineering details — case in point, Audio-Animatronics.

Both men had an intense love of our country, and of history, and of telling stories. Both were gifted in their ability to make people laugh, to make them feel good about themselves, and to remember what was really important.

I learned a ton from my Dad, but I also learned a ton from my Grandpa; I was blessed — and still am — to have them in my lives, even if, in the case of my Grandpa, it’s more the memories than anything.

My Grandpa was the man who introduced me to Walt Disney World when he and my Grandma took us to the Magic Kingdom in 1979. That was a highlight of my Disney life that I remember to this day, something that I won’t ever forget. Grandpa and Grandma also took me to Epcot in 1983, just months after it opened, and I’m glad that I’ve been able to pass along my love of Disney to Cindy and Sophie.

So today I remember my Grandpa and his 100th birthday, and in closing, I ask a simple thing from you, my readers. If your Grandma or Grandpa are still around, take time today to give them a call, or shoot them an email if they are high-tech, and tell them you love them. Reminisce with them over some of the memories you have with them. If your grandparents aren’t around, tell the same thing to your parents. Life is too short, and memories are too valuable to waste a moment in thinking about what really matters in this world.

Thanks for stopping by and wishing my Grandpa a Happy 100th Birthday!