Sea World and my Grandfather.

So, my Grandfather is in the hospital, and probably will pass away this week. I went out to see him with my family this weekend, and my folks turned over several boxes of slides and negatives. Some of them I have seen before, most of them not. It is a treasure trove of my family history from the 1940s to the late 1970s. I have these wonderful memories of going to all the Southern California theme & amusement parks with them - but the photos of Sea World always seemed to be sparse. In particular, there was a little kiddie ride in boats shaped like Shamu the Whale that I have this memory of - a day I spent with my family that was kinda pure joy for me. Try as I might, I never could find a photo of the darned thing. I know, I'm being a mushy dork here - but when I found this negative in the stash, well it choked me up...

I look to be about 5 or 6 here, so I'm gonna guess it's 1976. I've got boxes to go through - including several packs of negs labeled "Hawaii - 1974"...

Here's my Grandfather in Dec. 1947, with what looks like a new combo turntable/radio. They gave us those blue ceramic chinese dogs you see on top for Christmas last year. I don't know where to put them yet, but I'm sure I'll accompany them with this photo. He really spent a lot of time documenting his life through slides and photos - and I'm really thankful that he did. I guess I'm just saying that I love my Grandfather, and I'll miss him. Thanks, Grandpa.

Thanks for sharing Tangaroa. Glad you found that picture and we look forward to seeing Hawa'i - 1974!

Our prayers are with your Grandfather.

A bittersweet note for sure......What a great treasure for you to have though. Photos are so wonderful to have as a remembrance of those who are no longer with us. Reminds me that I really need to get together with my folks who are in their 70's so we can go through all of the old photos of theirs as well as those of my grandparents because I don't know the people or places depicted in the photos and without their help in identifying and marking them, I never will. Perhaps we all could take some time to reconnect with family by checking out old photos, slides and home movies. I remember as a young kid we would go to my grandparents in the summer and they would serve home-made ice cream and then get out the slide projector and screen and show us slides from their vacations taken long before we grandkids were born. Wow, I really miss those times.

Thanks - bittersweet is exactly what it is.

I feel fortunate I tape recorded him talking about his life story a few years ago. He was born homesteading in Dover, Colorado with my Great-Grandfather, who among other "careers" was a lightning-rod salesman at the turn of the century!

A lightning rod salesman? Thats cool.
My Great-Grandfather also was in Colorado. In fact he was an Engineer on the train that used to go up Pikes Peak before there was a road. He was a miner in Missouri in the winter and went to CO for the summers.
He died before I was born though.

That Shamu pic is just awesome! Glad to see it wasn't lost. Looks like you and I had the same haircut in the 70's. Actually, we ALL had that haircut, didn't we?

On 2004-07-14 14:23, tikifish wrote:
Actually, we ALL had that haircut, didn't we?

Yeah, I had that modified Dorothy Hamill thing too.

My first trip to Sea World was in 1979, and I don't recall riding in those Shamu boats. (All I can remember is my parents griping about how expensive everything was there. Or was that Marineland?)

Does anyone have old photos from Busch Gardens in the Valley?

They don't call it a bowl for nothing!

Wow! Color photographs from the 40s! Your family was awfully with-it (not surprisingly).

I'm sorry this is a hard time for your family. However, I think it's wonderful that you're preparing to celebrate the completion of his life--this last bit is going to be sad, but what wonderful memories for you all to savor!

When my son was in elementary school, his class did a project for Grandparent's Day which I saved & will pass down to future generations.

They were assigned to call all of their living grandparents, ask the following questions, and record the answers in a booklet:

(1) What games did you play when you were a kid?
(2) What was your favorite toy?
(3) What chores did you do?
(4) What did you do to get in trouble?

He was able to interview all 4 grandparents. Now ten years later, 2 of them are gone. My dad's answer to question #4 had to be censored for the elementary school audience.