Grandpa With a Gun
Growing up, I was told that my Grandpa Rees was a lawyer for the government. More frequently, I was told what a terrible jerk he was.
As the self-appointed family historian I recently digitized nearly two hours worth of 8mm film footage from my Rees ancestors that I had partially watched, once upon a time, as a barely-caring teenager.
Included in the footage is a brief section of my Grandfather at work in Washington, DC. Fleeting, underexposed images of him walking to his desk are followed by clearer scenes of him outside, shirtless, firing a pistol at criminal-shaped targets as part of his training as a member of the C.I.A. How many kids can say they have footage of their grandfather doing something as awesome as that?
Not until after he died did I know that Grandpa Rees had worked for the C.I.A., and fired pistols, and was interesting and adventurous and cool. That had all been kept a secret. All I had been told was how horrible he was.
For the first time ever now, I really wish I had known him better and made up my own mind about him.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
That film is an absolute treasure. I am in shock at how cool your grandfather was.