the new octogenarian, my grandpa barak!
on sunday, june 13th my family -- the *whole* family -- got together to celebrate my maternal grandfather's 80th birthday (his actual birthday was on saturday, the 12th) at my parents' house in texas. matt and i were lucky enough to be able to be there to celebrate this momentous occasion and see the extended family, who we don't normally get to visit with while we are in town. while not every family member was able to be there (due to illness or work schedules or other prior commitments) the turn out was excellent and everyone had a great time! we celebrated with grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and a very yummy marble cake.
born june 12, 1930...
yes, my grandfather has seen a lot, done a lot and has been fortunate enough to witness all the wonderful changes in the world since he first entered this earth in 1930. he's been able to watch the advent and transformation of phones to cell phones to video phones, TV's to drive-in's to projectors to HDTV to 3D, the transformation of cars to minivans to SUV's to...cars. he fought in the Korean War, raised 4 amazing children and has been married to my grandmother for more than 50 years! he's survived prostate cancer and heart surgery, speaks and understands nearly a half-a-dozen languages and still sits down to write "old-fashioned" letters to each of his grandkids on a regular basis -- when he isn't hunting, woodworking, fixing something or spending time with grandma. he is truly amazing!
and, for your education, here's some extra info...
in the year 1930:
- the US was recovering from one of the worst economic depressions in history
- unemployment rates were up, and the nation was passing legislation to restrict immigration of foreign laborers to combat unemployment
- the US had won its group for the world cup
- congress was fighting to pass legislation to boost the economy and help the unemployed (the "committee for unemployment relief" and a $150 million stimulus package for public works to create jobs)
- healthcare reform and benefits bills were passed, creating the veterans administration under the VA act
...sounds familiar....isn't there a saying about this?
who else is celebrating the big 8-0 this year?
- sliced bread was introduced (so now, you can say "the best thing since 1930!"....okay, maybe not...), as was the electric toaster and the sunbeam "mixmaster"
- the snickers bar was introduced by m&m mars and became the best-selling candy bar in the nation
- mott's applesauce and hostess twinkies are new to the market, too
- scotch tape hits the market, originally marketed as a cellophane food package sealant
- pluto was discovered...as a *planet*
- the first world cup is played involving only 13 teams, uruguay beats argentina 4-2
- the chrysler building opened on may 27th, it replaced both the eiffel tower and the woolworth building as the world's tallest structure
- construction begins on the empire state building (which eventually replaces the chrysler building as the world's tallest structure)
- nancy drew books make their debut
- fun with dick and jane is published
- both American Airlines and TWA are created from the conglomeration of smaller companies
- amelia earhart flies her lockheed vega at 171 mph january 15, setting a new woman's speed record
- hans fischer of germany wins the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his analysis of blood, determining the A, B, O and AB blood types
- vannevar bush develops at MIT a prototype of the first analog computer, the Differential Analyzer, which can solve differential equations
- clarence birdseye markets the first frozen foods
