Soren with Grandma and Grandpa….lucky us!

Our dear Soren spent his fall school break with us….we are honored that this is where he wanted to be.  Thank you, Soren.

On our way to breakfast at the Rendezvous Cafe….

One of our family Leisure World traditions is breakfast at the cafe.

One of the joys of visiting Leisure World is the warm weather and swimming, even when it’s raining and cold elsewhere.

Another tradition….making M&M pancakes with Grandma!

The sky darkened and we saw the solar eclipse….

Then we headed off to the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa. This museum is a historical treasure, filled with military aircraft, mementos, scrapbooks, stories, photos, and so much more.  

The docents are all knowledgeable and passionate in their love for the airplanes and admiration for the courageous men and women who have been our country’s fighting legends throughout the last century—Doolittle’s Raiders, the B-17 bombers including the Memphis Belle, and, of course, the Tuskegee Airmen. 

 

Soren was in his element—he is so curious, intelligent, wise, and full of questions about everything he sees.  Here he was in two hangers filled with displays and enthusiastic docents who were eagerly and happily wanting to share their knowledge and stories with him.

We found the type of plane that in 1942 Dad Graybill would have done his initial flight training in--the Stearman.

A special treat….we got to climb inside a B-17 Bomber.  

We were shocked at how cramped and primitive these bombers were.  And there were 10 men, often under fire, who flew on these bombing missions.  The had a height restriction for these men—no taller than 5’ 7.”

See Soren near the tail end of the bomber?  

I felt a special affinity to the early women who were part of our fighting force over a hundred years ago, like Rosie the Riveter.

Soren now knows that the helmet he wears when he is cycling and skating is really a Brain Bucket.

We also climbed inside a WWII C-47 Skytrain….after Soren did a flyby.

Much more luxurious than the B-17!

Soren and Grandpa surprised me with a memento of  this special day—a Rosie the Riveter mug!

Grandpa found the perfect way to finish off our day.  From his fabulous movie collection, we watched The Tuskegee Airmen and The Memphis Belle.  They are historically accurate WWII movies.....although the last flight of the Memphis Belle was actually much less eventful than the movie portrayed.  We were all moved by how we spent our day, and what these men did when they were actually boys close to Soren's age.  

 

We were quite impressed with Soren's schooling, and his memory regarding his lessons.  He already knew about the Tuskegee Airmen and their significance.   He even knew how to pronounce Tuskegee.  We didn't learn about these airmen until we were far into our adulthood. 

 

It is incredible that the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd, never lost a B-17 Bomber they were escorting.  What a record.  

This was a day that we will remember…..we honored these brave men and women who flew high above us in the skies.  So many of them never returned home.  Our fathers did...fortunately.  Hundreds of thousands gave their lives so we can be free.  We must always try to live our lives with kindness, so these men and women won’t have died in vain. 

We are in our mid-seventies and have never read any of the Harry Potter books or seen any of the movies.  Soren is our Harry Potter family expert.  He has read all seven books, six times.  As Soren says, he has now read Harry Potter 42 times.  And he has seen all the movies more times than he can count.

Soren has introduced us to the magical world of Harry Potter.  He helped us get our home (Gryffindor), and complete our profile.  Here is Grandma and Grandpa’s portrait ….we look alike, and, not surprisingly, we’re wearing the same shirts!

We got to watch the first two Harry Potter movies with Soren.  He explained different scenes and expanded on them from his knowledge of the books.  Soren often said the lines before the actors did, and his accent and tone of voice was a perfect imitation.  

We can hardly wait until he visits again and shares more of his Harry Potter movies with us.  This is how every grandparent should experience Harry Potter!

Thank you Soren, for all the sweet love and joy that you bring into our lives.