Water, Wind and Land: Metaphors for a Geophysicist (remembrance for Grandpa on his 98th birthday)

November 18, 2017

Water, Wind and Land: Metaphors for a Geophysicist (remembrance for Grandpa on his 98th birthday)

9 Comments

My grandfather was an amazing man.  A geophysicist, he was quiet, brilliant, circumspect, pragmatic, a lifelong learner in the fields of math and science and leader in oil exploration – and yet he was so faithfully loving and supportive of a creative like me, his oldest grandchild and just about his polar opposite in terms of interests and passions.

51t9ijqmntl-_sx314_bo1204203200_Grandpa was strong and silent like so many men of his age who served in WWII and saw things they could never describe and didn’t care to remember.  Tom Brokaw called them The Greatest Generation in his influential book of the same name; I just call myself lucky that this first lieutenant in the Air Force fell in love with my grandmother, a divorcé with a tiny daughter, and married her in 1942.

Ruth and Nancy 1941That tiny daughter was my Mom, and this gentle, studious man adopted her as his own, treating her the same as the other children he and Grandma went on to have. I didn’t know Grandpa wasn’t my Mom’s biological father / my biological grandfather for years, and when I found out, it didn’t matter in the least. We were his, and he was ours.

(photos with captions are excerpts from a slide show created by my Dad for my grandmother’s 90th birthday)

Tom Ruth Nancy Steven
Grandpa Grandma Nancy Lucy

A true explorer, Grandpa’s career in oil exploration took him all over the world; he was eventually VP of Geophysics for Superior Oil (now ExxonMobil).  His remarkable career was followed by adventures on the sea, as his retirement began with a 42-foot sailboat and trips that sometimes included lucky grandchildren like my brother and me.

The Sea Urchin

Steve on Sea Urchin
My brother on my grandparents’ sailboat, in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, in the mid-70s; this was an epic 7-day trip I will always remember

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The rigors of sailing gave way to land-based adventures as my grandparents mounted an RV in their 70s and traveled throughout the country, visiting national parks and family, arriving just in time for birthdays and births (including my son’s). Their retirement together was rich in experiences fueled by water, wind and land – and love of family.

Tom Ruth RV

Today would have been Grandpa’s 98th birthday. To honor and remember him, I’m sharing the poem I wrote for his funeral in 2002.

Water, Wind and Land: Metaphors for a Geophysicist (for Grandpa)

 

we are all archeologists now

sifting through our memories of you

sorting the bits and pieces we find

to put them back together

in what will become our lasting “mind pictures” of you

sometimes sifting and sorting alone

sometimes together with your other loves ones

turning our memory fragments this way and that

to see where they fit

and make a clearer picture

all of my finds in this archeological dig of grief

are geo-metaphors for a geophysicist:

~ water, wind and land ~

 

for you were not a man of words

you were a man of deeds

of facts

of maps

and plans

 

my dig finds full sails and stormy skies

radars and Lorans

dolphin fish and egrets’ cries

a wood-hulled boat, a lake cabin, a becalming

your thoughtful brown eyes

your “I love you’s” were spoken in geo-metaphor:

~ water, wind and land ~

“help me steer the boat, Kimmie”

“Stevie, let me show you how to tie a slip knot”

“Of course girls can shoot skeet!”

 

for you were not a man of words

you were a man of deeds

of facts

of maps

and plans

 

I dig deeper, contemplative, archeologist-turned sociologist

looking for meaning

and I find you are an underground river

strong, constant, clear and sure

your life’s waters carried bloodlines and love-lines

equally strong

lifelines guiding through shifting sands

~ water, wind and land ~

 

my finds are home-baked bread

and spectacular jams

a well-stocked RV

crossing ferries and dams

Grandma’s letters with your P.S:

“Math and science, math and science!”

recognized clearly – then and now –

as geo-metaphor love, all your best

~ water, wind and land ~

 

you were a man of deeds

of facts

of maps

and plans

~ water, wind and land ~

 

we dig and sort

together and apart

reconstructing geo-you

in the museums of our hearts

~ water, wind and land ~

 

 

love, kimmie

july 2002


Grandpa and me at my first wedding, way back in the 80s. Those pearls were borrowed from my grandmother, one of the many, many gifts he brought her from his world travels.  His finds, which included on the one end spears and art from Nigeria and on the other end, jewelry like these pearls and a gorgeous raw emerald, have been given to all of my cousins. I got the pearls.

Grandpa and Kim 1984

In his later years, Grandpa channeled his natural curiosity and scientific attention to detail into cooking, mostly bread-baking and jam-making.  He made the same recipes again and again, meticulously documenting small differences until he had them perfected.  Christmas stocking gifts in those years were highly coveted jars of his homemade jellies.  I treasure the memory of our long talks about cooking from those days. I also inherited some of his knives and big pots, which I consider to be heirlooms on par with the pearls.

Rest in peace, dear man, and bless you for teaching us about water, wind and land – and love.

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Copyright 2017, Glover Gardens Cookbook



9 thoughts on “Water, Wind and Land: Metaphors for a Geophysicist (remembrance for Grandpa on his 98th birthday)”

  • Your loving eloquence honors him deservedly.

    Your stories show how all were so very fortunate to have each other’s love.

  • My Uncle Tom was one of the kindest men I ever knew, he was a man of few words but he had a good sense of humor. On a skiing trip with my cousins in Colorado (where we all lived at the time) I feel and injured my knee,had a cast put on He was the one who drove me home from the slopes I felt so safe and cared for. When he spoke to my aunt you could always hear the love and tenderness in his voice when he said”Ruthie”. He was generous and gentlemanly. We traveled on his boat to Galveston to see Nathan and Sharon. I was on crutches and had my infant son with me. They were both so kind to us. I remember his recalling how flying over most of the world for his job he had noted that much of it is dark until he came to the US . Then there were many light signs of life and prosperity as a result of being a free people. He loved children and ice cream 💕💕and we loved him.

  • Hi Kim, You don’t know me but I know of your grandpa. I actually have a photo of him in a group photo taken in the Bahamas on an oil exploration survey there in 1947. I will leave my email address below. If you are interested I will send you a copy. regards Doug Morrison, exploration geophysicist , Sydney Australia.

    • Hi Doug! This is an amazing and wonderful note. I would absolutely love to have a copy of that photo, and I am so grateful that you took the time to contact me. My grandmother is still with us (she’s 97), and she would get a real kick out of that photo. I don’t see your email address anywhere, but here’s mine: kimberly.ann.glover@gmail.com. Thanks again!

  • He sounds amazing…and a major shaper of his grandkids….and a man of his times but also trailblazing.

    What hit me very hard is that he and my Mom’s father, Oury, could be twins separated at birth or doppelgangers. But that is a photo story for another day….happy birthday Kim’s grandad. I imagine he is exploring other galaxies and dimensions right about now. Godspeed Sir.

    • What a nice comment; it makes me smile to think that my grandfather had a doppelganger. Maybe we are related! And yes, I’m sure he’s exploring beyond the bounds of water, wind and land these days.

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