mom sent out this picture last night. its of my brother & me with my grandpa during our breakdance years (my bro’s & mine, not my grandpa’s. he never had breakdance years.. none that we know of). we had the parachute pants & get-up clothes (i think we were poor as it is obvious we shared a pair of gloves), took the classes, entered contests (which i only remember failing miserably at), and even had the special cardboard to do the backspin. oh the glory years.

what captured me from the picture this time (having seen this picture many times over the years) is my grandpa playing around with us. that & the overall embarrassment.

some backstory.. grandpa was actually quite a big deal. born in Wales he became a renowed engineer in acoustic engineering. found this little write up on him. he has quite a fancy hall named after him at the university he was vice-chancellor.
 

Professor Elfyn Richards O.B.E., M.A., D.Sc., C.Eng., F.R.Ae.S., M.I.Mech.E.

Born in Barry, Wales and educated at the Grammar School there, Professor Richards moved away to continue his education first at University College Aberystwyth and later at St John’s College in Cambridge where he read mathematics and physics.  After a short period with the Bristol Aeroplane Company he spent his war years at the National Physical Laboratory in charge of aerofoil research. In 1945 he was appointed Chief Aerodynamicist at Vickers-Armstrong in Weybridge, responsible for the aerodynamic design of the Viking, Viscount and Valiant. It was here that he developed an interest in aircraft noise that would lead him to become one of the country’s leading exponents of aircraft design and a world authority on noise acoustics. In 1950 he took up the new Chair of Aeronautical Engineering at Southampton University and in 1963 became Professor of Applied Acoustics setting up the internationally renowned Institute of Sound and Vibration Research.  He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University in 1967 and here he achieved his three main goals for the University.  Firstly to broaden its academic base, secondly to become more co-educational and encourage female applicants and finally that it should embrace its University status and expand its research activity and post-graduate work.  He ‘retired’ from Loughborough in 1975 and returned to Southampton to a Chair within the Institute he had founded.

so here is one of englands esteemed academics & researcher getting down with two of his grandsons. that is pretty cool. oh the memories. grandpa died in ’95 a number of months after we all celebrated his 80th b’day party. you can still find his obituary.