THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
One of my
favorite things when we were in Ocean City was fishing with Grandpa. Grandpa loved to fish and it took little prodding
to get him to let me tag along. We often
went fishing with several cousins, whomever was visiting.
As much as
Grandpa loved fishing, I think he often took out his small boat just to please
his Grandchildren. As much as we all
loved fishing, fishing with Grandpa was extra special.
When I was
twelve, the Hemmingway short story “The Old Man and the Sea” was made into a
movie. My Grandpa was an “Old Man” and
as the movie was about fishing I thought he would really enjoy this film. On his birthday I announced I wanted to see
this movie and I would take Grandpa…my treat!
Grandpa
thought that was a splendid idea and he would love to go, in fact he said he had
been anxious to see this movie.
And so we
went to the theater on the Ocean City Boardwalk, probably “The Surf” to see “The
Old Man and the Sea.” It was just
Grandpa and me. It was a special moment
for me to give my Grandpa this perfect birthday present, treating him to a
movie, a movie about fishing. It
probably cost me about seventy-five cents, twenty-five for me and fifty cents
for Grandpa.
Strangely
enough I remember very little from that day.
We went to the movie, we probably shared some popcorn which was probably
bought by Grandpa and we watched the movie.
I really don’t remember the movie.
I know the story because I have read it, but I don’t remember the movie.
What I do
remember is years later, after my Grandpa had passed away, talking to my
Grandmother. I mentioned how much I
enjoyed “Treating” Grandpa to a movie for his birthday. Grandma told me, “You know your Grandfather
did not really like movies. I couldn’t
tell you the last movie he saw before that day, and he never saw another after
he went with you. He actually hated
movies and movie theaters, but he didn’t know how to tell his Grandson that, so
he went and I think he enjoyed it.”
Somehow
finding out that Grandpa hated the movies made my memory of that day even better, and I always
think of Grandpa as the Old Man in “The Old Man and the Sea.”
Thanks for the memories. I remember my grandfathers with delight.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely Grandpa to do something he didn't like just to please a Grandson.
ReplyDeleteAhhh! That is so sweet...
ReplyDeleteIt's a great story, and I'm glad you had this wonderful experience with your grandpa. He must have loved you very much to do something so out of his comfort zone.
ReplyDeletewhat a sweet man to do that for you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a special Grandpa you had!
ReplyDeleteYep, that was a loving grandfather, and a pretty thoughtful grandson, too. I'm glad you two got to share that experience, even if in retrospect was more for you than him. :)
ReplyDeleteS
What a special old man, to see the movie with you, with pleasure. And, I mean that sincerely, although I had fun writing it.
ReplyDeleteYour Grandpa must have been adorable, because grandparents are.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how we used to think of our grandparents as old and now we are old ourselves.
Great story. It really was sweet of him to go with you. My grandma took me to my first movie, "The Boy With Green Hair," when I was five. There were some sad parts, and I still remember how much it hurt when I got a lump in my throat.
ReplyDeleteWhat's a grandpa for?
ReplyDeleteThough truth be told I had a twinge of jealousy at first. I had 2 natural and one step grandfather and, well, none was a grandpa. Ya know?
But then the jealousy fades when I am reminded of an 'adopted' neighborhood grandpa.
Aaaawww...what a nice grandpa!
ReplyDeleteOne important job of grandparents is to make great memories. Sounds like your "Old Man" was a master.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely Grandpa memory. My grandpa was very special too. I think I'm inspired to write about him now.
ReplyDelete