Memories of My Grandfather

I wanted to continue blogging on my recent trip to Ohio, and being the Dallas photographer I am, I will also share some of the images that I took. Last time I spoke about the beautiful fall colors that Aynsley and I got to enjoy, but I wanted to focus this particular blog on my grandfather. One of the best, and simultaneously somber parts of the trip was getting to visit my grandfather’s grave at the Ohio Western Reserve National Ceremony. He passed away over two years ago, and I wasn’t able to fly up for the funeral due to just having back surgery. I really wish I had been able to go, but just was not able to. 

The opportunity to see where he was laid to rest was a pretty emotional one for me.  I really wish he was still alive, and that we had been able to tell him the wonderful news about Aynsley and our little bun in the oven. He was hurting though, so it was for the best that he didn’t have to experience any more of the pain and difficulty he was enduring. That fact still doesn’t take away the sadness, but at least I can look back on the time we spent together.

I have so many great memories of hitting the road with him, and literally spending days driving around to explore and learn about Ohio. He was a truck driver, so he knew all of the roads, and had a great story to tell me almost everywhere we went. I got to hear everything from the history behind machinery and warplanes to the time a tree was struck by lightning while he was driving his rig. The tree fell over right as he was going past it, and he had the window rolled down with his arm out. The tree cut right through his arm, and other branches leveled off the grain that he was hauling. Pretty crazy story right? That was only one of many that I got to hear throughout my childhood.

 As I grew older, the trips were increasingly focused on barns. That may seem odd, but for this Dallas photographer, they are fascinating. I find the history of old barns to be absolutely captivating, and there are so many in Ohio, with some in great shape while others are in varying states of disrepair. I had graduated from a disposable camera in my young years to an actual SLR film camera, as the photography bug really started to get a hold of me in high school, so we went and documented barns all over the place. I can still remember how much fun it was, and how Grandpa had all the time in the world to let me do my thing. A Dallas photographer can drive you crazy, as they always want to capture something they see or visualize, and it may take waiting until everything is just right. I’ve trekked through my share of fields and reasonably deep snow to get something that I wanted.

 In looking back on my experiences, I realize that the barns carry a lot more meaning beyond their history or architecture. They really serve as a connector between my grandfather, and me as it was a memory unique to he and I that I will always treasure and never forget. Thank you for the memories grandpa, I miss you and wish that you had been able to meet our child. Rest assured that they will get to experience Ohio, and I hope that it contains the same amount of joy that it did for me.

Grandpa's truck. We put quite a few miles on this thing looking for photos.