90 Candles

Gordon Daniel Rowe is turning 90 years old. My grandfather is one of the most interesting people I will ever know in my lifetime. He is brilliant. He has lost his agility but not his memory, charm, or whit. Being a photographer, I often sift through, archive, and learn of our families past through him. I will record the stories he tells as he looks at an image. My favorite stories are of his childhood in Chicago and Genesee, Pennsylvania. It is amazing to listen to him. He can still recall all of the names, locations, dates, etc. It is amazing to think that he experienced the first automobiles, planes, electricity, plumbing, WWII, and the growth of our nation. All of our elders contain so much knowledge and experience.

The family, 40 heads total, will all converge on Chagrin Falls Ohio for the 90th Birthday Celebration. I hope I am half as interesting, charming, and fun when and if I make it to his ripe age.

By the way, my father is one of the identical twins in this photograph...can't tell which.