Yesterday was my very first day as a volunteer with the Smithsonian’s National WWII Reunion festivities, and I have to say, it was one of the best days I think I’ve *ever* had! It was so much fun! I got to meet loads of really interesting people, I got to work hard, and I got to feel like I was a part of something really important. The best part for me was seeing everyone, noticing the difference in the atmosphere. It was so apparent that everyone there had worked so hard to make this happen, and that people had put a lot of effort into coming, and all in an effort to say “thank you” to an entire generation of selfless, courageous, and humble people. It was really remarkable.

I worked literally all day. I got to the Mall shortly before 9:00am, and didn’t leave Washington until 7:20pm. But it was all worth it. Sure, I can barely walk today, but it was worth it. In fact, I wanted to go back again today to volunteer some more, I struggled with it for a long time this morning, but I know my feet just can’t take it. I didn’t care about my feet for once, I was ready to hop in the car and drive down there again, but I know that if I strain myself today, I won’t be able to go tomorrow. That would be really disappointing, since I know tomorrow’s going to be absolutely remarkable. I have to make it to the Dedication, even if that means giving up a day at the reunion.

Also, this gives me a day to get ready for tomorrow and Sunday, when I’ll hopefully be going back to the reunion for one last day of volunteering. I’m going to head out to Target later and buy myself a plain t-shirt, so I can make a WWII poster shirt to wear on Sunday. And, I’m collecting pictures of my grandfathers and close friends so I can make little buttons to pin to my shirt for tomorrow and Sunday. Everything’s all printed out, I just need to go laminate them then I’ll be set to go.

But you want to know the coolest part about going through all these old pictures? I got to see a picture of my Grandpa Lawver from the 1930’s and 40’s. I don’t remember ever seeing what he looked like as a younger man, and might I say, my Grandfather was an absolute hunk. Beyond that, as I was looking through all his old photos, I kept thinking that he looked familiar. I figured it was just the resemblance between him and my Father, but there was something more to it. It wasn’t until I showed my new favorite picture of him to Sujit that I realized exactly what it was that was so familiar. Sujit even noticed it too.

“Your Grandfather looks like Ralph Fiennes.”

I’m pretty creeped out at the moment. Why? Because, honestly, I’ve thought Ralph Fiennes was rather cute for a while now. And it turns out, he looks exactly like my Grandfather. Don’t you think that’s just a little bit weird? How was I supposed to know that?! I’d only seen pictures of him from when he was older and all wrinkly. But check it out for yourself. I even remember seeing a picture of Ralph Fiennes taken at exactly the same angle, with exactly the same look on his face. I even used that picture on the Daily Prophet all those years ago when I said he should be cast as Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter movies. But so help me, I can’t find that picture, so we’ll have to settle for a slightly different one. I still say it’s dang creepy, though, even though the photos are different. I’m never going to be able to look at Ralph Fiennes the same way again! And that’s rather unfortunate…

Trying to keep myself from getting too weirded out, I did realize that hey, that means my future children have a slight chance of turning out as handsome as Ralph Fiennes. Not bad, eh? That’s something, at least, but I’m still trying to get used to this idea.

And no, to answer a question I know I’m going to get asked, my father does not look like Ralph Fiennes. He’s always looked more like Robert Redford. That’s not bad either, especially since in my kindergarten class my Dad was always the one who won the “Who Has the Cutest Dad” contest. But I never had a crush on Robert Redford, so that was okay.

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, and I’d love to tell you more details about yesterday, but I’m afraid I have to go get some stuff done now. 🙂 Want to see some other cute pictures of my Grandpa Lawver that I just love? (Cute as in, they look like they’re from some WWII movie, like they’re staged. They’re just too funny.) Here’s one of a bunch of Air Force pilots in front of a coffee house, a picture from 1937 when he was a commercial airline pilot (he’s on the left), and finally, here’s the full photo that the comparison pic was taken from (again, on the left, and this too was taken in 1937). Cool, huh? 🙂