OCALA | FLORIDA

The year was 1920 and the world looked very different than it does today - and at the same time it was eerily familiar. World War I had just taken 100,000 lives and the flu pandemic another 650,000 but it was the beginning of a new decade. The decade that would popularize art deco and become known as the roaring twenties. In September of 1920, my grandfather, my dad’s dad was born. In September of 2020, we would celebrate his 100th birthday!

Despite another ongoing global pandemic, we didn’t want to miss celebrating such a unique accomplishment. Regardless of his age, he is healthy and so we gathered a close group of friends and family and shared an afternoon together (now 4 months removed, nobody from that group contracted COVID-19). The celebration wasn’t just about turning a number of years but about the life in those years. I relish every chance that I get to hear the stories that he has to share and the experiences that he has seen in his century of life. This is the same man that taught me how to work on my bike as a child and took me on countless road trips. There are so many memories that I share with him and I am so glad that I was able to share this one with him as well.