Friday, April 5, 2013

E is for Education


PT’s 91 Years of Wisdom
This year, I had a terrible time trying to figure out what my A-Z theme would be.  I finally decided that this year, I would honor my beloved 91 year old grandfather, Paul Titus, or PT as his friends called him, who passed away on February 8th.  He lived a wonderfully full life and was always trying to challenge my brothers and me to think out of the box.  So for this challenge I thought I would share little bits of his wisdom that he tried to bestow upon us.  
But I also want to highlight the wonderful bloggers in this community who have published their books.  So everyday, I will give a quick  shout out to those works with titles beginning with the letter of the day.  


My son showing Gramps how to navigate on his new computer 
Gramps never went to college.  He and my grandma got married right out of highschool, but being educated was extremely important to him.  He was always thinking about something and often said, “I’m never bored, there’s too much to think about.”



I remember when my brother and I would join he and my Grandma on their yearly drive to Florida, all the way down Gramps would ask us questions like, “How many gallons of water do you think are in the lake?” He would proceed to tell us the circumference  and it’s approximate depth, so we could figure it out.  One time he asked, “How many trees do you think are in that forest over there?” Of course we could only estimate depending on a number of variables, but he kept us thinking.  

Maybe it was his way of making sure my brother and I didn’t annoy each other in the car in the days before ipads/ipods, portable game systems, and seatbelts!  But it opened my eyes to the reality that math is all around us and there are always opportunities to ponder things.        
 
He was always asking questions wanting to learn new things.  And when he finally learned about Google, he was unbelievably excited.  He couldn’t imagine a world where questions could be answered with a few keystrokes instead of looking up information in a dated old encyclopedia.  Whenever we saw him he would ask us stuff to look up.  We finally told him, he should just get his own computer and look up whatever he wanted.  He protested saying he would never know what to do with it.  But when he was 90, he decided it was time to join the computer age and he bought a small laptop.  He loved it.  


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Now for the "E" title shout outs!


Roland Yeomans















Ciara Knight
Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi 













Make sure to check out all the other great A-Zers here and have an excellent "E" day!

Kathy :)


22 comments:

  1. smarts to technology... brilliant i want to know how many trees are in any forest... wonderful story, thank you for sharing.

    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
    Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy

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  2. That's how you stay sharp. I spend hours in the car for my job, and I often wonder the same stuff when I'm driving along corn field and forests.

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  3. Wow! I never thought a car ride could sound like so much fun!

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  4. what a great character portrayal. Love how his mind worked.

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  5. Thanks for the shout-out for END OF DAYS that leads right into my latest THREE SPIRIT KNIGHT. Alice, the Victorian ghoul, thanks you ever so much as well!

    Your Grandfather sounds like a marvelous man. In heaven, he is probably having a field day studying all the wonders displayed there. :-)

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  6. Your grandpa sounds extraordinary. He always encouraged you to be a problem-solver. That's an important skill. No doubt you learned a great deal in his presence and he his proud when he looks down on you from Heaven.

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  7. Your grandfather sparked your need-to-know, didn't he?
    Excellent book choices today.

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  8. Doing maths can make the difference in our world from living on the street to having the American dream.

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  9. Jeremy- we were probably never close to an actual number but it was fun anyway.

    Jay- :) Those corn fields are mesmerizing, especially in Iowa and Nebraska.

    Andrea- He made it fun!

    Sandra- And it worked that way right up until the end.

    Roland- You're welcome! Good luck with the next one!

    Deanie- :) He was extraordinary. Thanks for stopping by.

    Alex- He sure did!

    Michael- You're so right.

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  10. Sounds like he was a very wise man! Love your E shout outs by the way!

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  11. Oh I love the story about your grandad! Especially the "I don't get bored". I am like that! It's so hard to make me feel bored :P

    It must have been very fortunate to have him with you guys. Don't you just admire how such amazing people teach you things that you'll retain for life and make you someone you love? :D

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  12. You grandfather was a very intelligent man.

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  13. God bless your grandfather!! A degree means nothing if there is no questing mind that earned it.

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  14. Always asking questions and wanting to learn helps keep the mind sharp. It sounds like your grandpa was a pretty sharp guy :)

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  15. It's so great he got a laptop at 90 years old. My dad has just got one for his 80th and now he orders stuff online and is on FB. He is still getting to grips with email but he'll get there.

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  16. The being able to look anything up on the Internet goes right along with my theme.
    It's an awesome thing.

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  17. Never stop learning! Great lesson.

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  18. I think I would have really enjoyed knowing your grandfather! :)

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  19. What a great legacy to instill into your family. My heart leaps to see your Grandpa's desire to keep learning. I heard a say once, not sure by who, that you are either growing or dieing. I am determined to grow like him.

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  20. I loved the story about your Grandpa, and I'm so glad he finally got that computer. My Dad was the same way when it came to knowing things and he only went to grade 5. It's kind of funny when you think about it... the older generations with less schooling seem to know way more about the little things and life in general.

    Have fun with a-z.

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  21. Sounds like your grandfather was a really smart man. I too am still fascinated how far the internet and technology has come. I can't really imagine how difficult it must have been to be a writer back in the days before Google or Bing and actually have to go to the library or a newspaper to check facts. We are so lucky!

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  22. What a wonderful honor to your Grandfather! I've never written every day on Blog and I'm having a difficult time coming up with things to write about. A theme would help quite a bit! Maybe next year. . . .

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