A common theme in my grandfather's slide collection is that he's not in any of the pictures.
Out of the hundreds of photos, you'll only see his signature Humphrey Bogart-esque scowl in a handful of images. Probably my favourites are the ones of him on a balcony in Majorca wearing only a Speedo and you can just tell he's feeling himself and it's awesome.
For Remembrance Day, though, I thought this shot of him at a WWII memorial in England would be more appropriate.
Thanks to all of these amazing slides, I'm thinking a lot about my grandpa these days and particularly today, being Remembrance Day. He died on my birthday 12 years ago at 93. He was not a perfect human but he was a great grandfather to me. He spoiled me when I was a little girl and I was lucky to get to know him a little as an adult.
My grandfather served in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII. After the war, he returned to Barrie, Ontario, where he was the city solicitor for almost fifty years. He was very civic minded and he was very artistic. He designed the Barrie's coat of arms. They named a bridge after him this year. So yeah - my grandpa was kind of a big dill.
So today, I'm wearing my annual $20 poppy today in honour of all those who served, and continue to serve - and I'm thinking about one veteran in particular.
Love you, Grandpa.
