So, I am going to post this quote and it will make sense in a bit.
"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous" -Albert Einstein
So, this month the family movie that I watched this month. I have keep a list of movies for these theme's on my phone. Since I am doing three this year I have been having google pick a random number to pick the movie that I am going to watch on my list. This one that google picked was At War with Grandpa.
War is always a dangerous sport. However, it becomes hilarious when Grandpa moves in. When a grandson is forces to give up his room so that he grandfather can move in with the family, he is not happy. He write a declaration of war to his grandfather and starts a series of pranks that are pulled on each other to see who wins that room. A series of weird events caused both of them to form a closer bond and to give them both something to look forward to.
I really enjoyed this movie. It's a great family film that doesn't have cussing, or anything bad in it... except pranks. It's sweet and the characters are understandable in fact that both are having issues with the new living arrangement. It's great that they have the wonderful forming of their relationship by the end.
The reason for the quote....
I wanted to talk about someone who I found interesting on my tree. I am not going to because I need to do some more research before I tell that story. I also have been bad and I don't do much of the research for these posts until the day of. That way I have all of the stuff in my head and at my fingertips in that moment. However, the last minute change made me pick someone else. I picked to do my grandpa on my mom's side. I also pick the movie to watch when I have free time and I forgot I picked the movie. It was meant to be as it seems.
This is my Grandpa, Clarence J. Graf. He and my Grandma Gladine were married May 19th 1956. When I came alone they were into many years of divorce but I don't ever remember visiting and not seeing him. He died in 1997 when I was about 6 years old. The reason I wanted to write about him was because he did leave a bigger influence on me then I could have thought.
My favorite flowers are poppies. The first time I remember seeing them is when we went to my grandpa's funeral. he was vet that served during the Korean War. He was also a part of The American legion. They did (they still might I am not 100% sure) a fundraiser where you buy Buddy Poppies. The American Legion created this program to help disabled and needy veterans. This is far better explained on the website by clicking here. Around the time of the funeral my mom bought this cute little plastic flower that I still have today. I have had a special place for that flower since. It's hasn't helped that the Flower in well used in my favorite movie but here we are.
A few years back I was thinking about who I have fallen in love with movies and theatre over the years. Movies was easy because my dad grew up in the movie theater, and met my mom in one. I also went to movie basically since before I could walk. I was obsessed with them when I was younger. I mean that made since. Then I got to thinking about how theater came to be. No one in my family is a real theater bug. No one went regularly. My dad and bother do music but they don't preform at venues.
When I started to think about it I thought it was in the early 2000s when mom took me to see Peter Pan at the Oak Ridge Playhouse. Then I realized that I really loved ballet and tap when I was younger and did take classes. I did do recitals growing up and that was some of my only experiences with the stage. Actually, I can pin point the love of the theatre starting at around that same time I was doing dance. My recitals were fun but, the last gift my grandpa gave me before he died was a VHS copy of Riverdance.
Riverdance is not a Broadway show but it's the first time I remember seeing the art of story telling on the stage. The funny thing to me today about it I remember the story that my 6 year old self put together when watching cause I didn't know what was really happening. In 2012, three year after the first time walking into the Tennessee Theatre, Riverdance came to the Tennessee and I got to go with my mom. I ended up remembering every queue, every light, ever action, from a show that I hadn't seen in over almost two decades at that point. I remember leaning over and telling my mom that it was the same show. She told me there was no way that it was the same because it had been so long. Then I started directing the show from my chair. I told her when was going to happen who was going to come out and she looked at me like I was a crazy person.
That VHS copy was the first real experience that I ever got to know about the stage. I used to play it and replay it all the time! I have home movies of me, and my little brother, dancing to it. I bet I watched it so much it drove my mom and dad crazy! Who would have ever thought that one of his last gifts was something that would last a lifetime? That later I would get to see the very show that I fell in love with 20 years before.
I am still saddened that I didn't get a chance to know him better. However, I am very glad that I got gifts that will last me a lifetime.
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