I'd like to meet my Grandpa George when he was my age. Unfortunately I wrote this just a few months before he passed-away earlier this year but I'll keep it just to share some fond memories that I have of him.
Back in the 1930's Grandpa George was part of the "Swinging Japanese-American Community" on the west coast traveling from LA to SF throwing dance parties for Japanese Americans - yeah imagine my shock when I realized grandpa was party promoter. Grandpa told stories of promoting parties from Seattle to San Pedro, even at the Herst Family Mansion in SF. After he got sent to the JA Internment camps my Grandpa still danced the night away with my Grandma, his response was "What else were we going to do?"
As every good grandpa does, Grandpa George taught me how to fish pursuing trout and bluegills in the foothills of LA. He was a big-time adventurer too, and fished the original long range recreational tuna boats out of San Diego and told marvelous stories of tuna gone wild for miles around. I was lucky enough to return the favor and even into his mid-eighties Grandpa George would still go fishing with me and reminisce his favorite tales.
In the end Grandpa George meet my Grandma Kimi at one of those magical "swinging" parties and with no "real job" the two of them eloped to Arizona and got married... much to the chagrin of my grandma's family. With a lot of love and of course sacrifice G&G managed to stay married for 70 long years. As a testament to his devotion to Grandma, Grandpa George even sacrificed his health as hers was declining and earlier this year in his words Grandpa George rejoined "the one and only love of my life".
Thanks Grandpa George.