My maternal grandfather, Albert Elmer Herman Louis Melahn, died on this day of January 24th in the mid to late 1970's. He was sixty-nine years old. He can be seen in the photo directly above with my grandmother, Clara May Fitchie Melahn where they are standing in front of one of their favorite restraunts that was located in Crystal Lake Illinois.
This photograph was one of my dearly departed grandmother's favorites, perhaps because of the memories she had of enjoying meals with him at one of their favorite places. For years after his death she laid the framed photo facedown on an end-table. Evidently looking at the image made her miss him even more. I am their first grandchild and the loss to me was great as well which is probably how most people feel when their grandfather dies.
According to a web-page associated with the loss of a grandfather, "the best dads get promoted to grandpas. Grandfathers are good listeners, good storytellers, and most importantly, good friends. They are always there to laugh and play with their grandkids and even console them when necessary. Grandfathers are also often the source of sage advice, a benefit of their many years of experience. One thing is for sure, the love of a grandfather is a unique treasure that is never forgotten by their grandchildren. The times spent with a grandfather turn into precious memories that are conserved in the heart, even long after they have passed."
For me the line, "The times spent with a grandfather turn into precious memories that are conserved in the heart, even long after they have passed.," bears repeating as I have find memories of my grandfather, such as him introducing me the peony flower (his hand is in the lower-right corner)...
... sharing his lap with my sisters and me...
....and also sharing his raft for me during a trip to a lake.
I have written about these memories with my grandfather on this blog in a number of entries including my fourth posting (published on January 8th 2010), where I spoke about the origins of my appreciation for gardening (and specifically my rooftop garden seen in the picture below showing how it looked this past Christmas).
My rooftop garden, as many of you know, is the setting for my three volume book series, Words In Our Beak. The stories in these books are told from the perspective of Cam, a female cardinal who visits my place. Cam is the covergirl for each of the books and she was named for both of my maternal grandparents, Clara 'n Albert Melahn.
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| MY BIRD BOOKS |
The instincts that I have for gardening very likely came from my grandfather. He can be seen in the next picture (which is featured in prior entries here on Blogger) below with a tree he had just planted.
As a child, my grandfather (along with my grandmother) was one of the first persons to recive a Valentine's Day card (seen below) from me which my grandmother kept for years.
The fact that my grandmother held on to the card for so many years and that it was passed on to me when she died shows the importance of receiving a paper card. That's something to think about, dear reader, as Valentines Day is rapidly approaching!
With that truism, I'd like to remind you that I have created a series of Valentine's Day cards and gifts, many of which are based on the birds featured in my aforementioned book series.
The items can be seen in thumbnail format below, but for a truer idea of their appearance, please visit my shop on Fine Art America.
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| MY VALENTINE'S DSAY SHOP |
By the way, my books also make a great gift for the Valentine's holiday.
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| VALENTINES DAY GIFT IDEA: MY BIRD BOOKS |
I'd love to be able to send them to my grandparents as they might've been my biggest fans and they are dearly missed.
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