My Grandfather was a Soldier in WWI

Last US Veteran of WWI Dies in W. VA at Age 110

When I saw this headline on my home page this morning, I knew I had to repost the link for my readers.

My grandfather was also a soldier in WWI. Roy George Gifford, born February 22, 1897 and died April 7, 1966.

My grandfather lost his eye in an accident while working at a factory in Illinois. The accident left him disabled to the point of not being able to work in that type of job any longer. He did various other things to bring in income. I remember riding in his big station wagon when he delivered bleach. After finishing the route, he'd take me to a little diner for a strawberry malted milk. His pet name for me was "kidlet."

My grandfather taught me to ride a bicycle, and he cooked the best potato soup in the world.

Sometimes I reminisce by going back through pictures and wish I had been as diligent of preserving history as my mother and grandmother were. This year I plan to surprise my children with a CD filled with pictures of their grandparents and great grandparents...a historical biography in pictures.

Time passes so quickly and sometimes we are either too busy or too young to capture the moments that mean little to us, yet will mean so much to future generations.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I've heard that old saying so many times, but as a writer, it has a meaning much different from what the quote's author might have imagined. "A picture is worth a thousand words." One would think it means there are no words needed to describe what one is seeing.

To me it means so much more. A picture might be a snapshot in my mind of something I've seen in the past which made an impact and a vivid memory. Or it might be something I'm currently viewing through my window, or it could be an actual picture taken with a camera.

A writer brings all of these to life with words.  A writer's paintbrush is words.

In the hands of a writer, a snapshot becomes a scene, and a scene becomes a story.

Yes, it's true. A picture is worth a thousand words...or more.

That's the gift of a writer.