90 Years Is A 'Big' Deal!

Friday night was a special occasion in the Grainger family. Just a little more than one month after Ike V was born Ike Jr. celebrated his 90th birthday. It’s hard to fathom that there are 89 years and 332 days that separate these two Ike’s. A nice gathering of family and friends helped ‘Big’, as many people like to call him, ring in this historic moment with a raucous party (well, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement) at Quail Hollow Country Club. There were humorous skits performed, nostalgic stories told, great company, delicious food and plenty of wine, all of which combined to make this night extremely special.

One of the highlights included his kids – Ike, Jim and Margaret – reading happy birthday letters that he had received over the last week from some very distinguished individuals. Among the well-wishers that took the time to send a letter to Big were Dean Smith, Arnold Palmer and George H.W. Bush. As I sit here and type this and think about the 34 years I have had the pleasure to have my grandfather such a large part of my life, I am continuously amazed at how many other lives Big has touched and the incredible impact he has made on his family and friends. What a great legacy to leave for the rest of the IBG’s.

The update on Mason and Ike is that they are enjoying their first visit in Greensboro with grandparents Carolyn and Bob. Brooks loaded up the car today with the twins (and Simba of course) and headed up I-85 to spend some time with her family and show Mason and Ike off to her friends in Greensboro. Brooks reports that amazingly, after an initial crying episode from Mason in Concord, the entire hour and a half trip was without incident. Now I understand why I always hear stories of parents loading up their crying kids into a car and driving around to quiet them down. So far a nice bumpy car ride has been a very effective weapon to combat Ike’s and Mason’s crying spells.