Times With Grandpa G

Hello my friends,

I would like to invite you to share an experience you have had with Grandpa Glassford. Post your experience on your BLOG for all to enjoy. We look forward to reading “Times with Grandpa G”.

I will start by introducing myself. I am Richard H. Glassford II: Son of Grandpa G. I am the second son of Richard and Luanne Glassford.

This true story took place in Southern California when I was around 13 years old.Living on this planet provides one with a multitude of unique experiences. My life has been anything but dull. I think I can attribute that to my OCD and a supportive family. I have many more things on my bucket list and hope to share those with loved ones for many years to come.

My experience occurred when I was about 13 years old. I was in 8^th grade and all I could think about was basketball, fishing and my pigeons. One Friday while sitting in school my buddies and I were thinking about fishing. We could never focus on Fridays because we knew we were about to wet a line somewhere in San Diego County. Grandpa G was the leader of our fishing party. Dad always made himself available to take us places and help the youth in our Ward. I had many good friends at this time and if I recall correctly Daryl Dickey, Mark Arnold and Steve Quesenberry accompanied us on this outing.

This particular Friday night we ventured to a lake about 80 minutes east of the city. Late that afternoon we took off to go camping and fishing. This lake is out in the country and stars lit up the night sky. With no light pollution from the ever present city sprawl, the night seemed extra dark and only venerable to a strong flashlight. To young teenagers the darkness invited the imagination to run wild and things that go bump in the night become a reality in the darkened distance beyond our vision. The plant life is mainly scrub-like with California live oaks scattered around the lake. Our camp site had some large trees providing much needed shade from the intense summer heat. Lake Moreno has an extensive variety of fish and we always had great success (bass, blue gill, sunfish, and catfish). This particular trip proved to be one of the most lasting impressions in my mind. When we pulled into the camp, the sun was almost down and it quickly became dark. We set up camp in the darkness with the lights of the car providing assistance. You must know as I continue to type what I am about to share with you actually happened. I am not making it up ………. The ground was littered with oak leaves and egg corns and I remember the smell and feel of the ground beneath us. We opened some canned foods and quickly ate as much as was provided before lying on our sleeping bags. All four of us young deacons were arranged like sardines side by side looking to the sky for shooting stars. Off in the distance about 100 ft was a large Oak tree and Grandpa G pointed out some curious lights that were moving above the tree. Our eyes quickly moved from star gazing to a 45 degree angle above and behind the tree.

We were instantly mesmerized by lights that seem to float above and behind the tree. From our perspective the lights could have been light years away or could have been just feet above and behind the tree. The objects could have been one inch across or as big as a football field. As the lights interacted with one another we noticed the lights moved quickly, slowed then followed by quick random movements. Our close encounter lasted a few minutes and to this day I believe we experienced something from another world. Dad and I have talked about this many times since and we cannot come up with another other explanation. After a short period of time we stood and walked towards the car to see the lights from a different angle. Shortly after the lights dissipated and the experience was over. I know some of you have might have some explanations but as far I am concerned Grandpa G and four adolescent boys saw something from another world. As for the rest of the night we laid on our sleeping bags with some anxiety and creative explanations. I am sure we also talked about girls but mostly about the aliens that were headed in our direction and what we were going to do when they tried to suck out our brains. Grandpa of course eased our minds and helped us focus on the fishing we were going to do the next morning. We had a great time catching plenty of fish and on the way home as usual Grandpa stopped in a small town called Alpine to get us some soft ice cream cones. If you know grandpa, you know he loves getting the kids ice cream. Thanks Gramps for all the great memories and we look forward to many more.

Love your Son,

Rich or Ricky

P.S. I would like to get in touch with those aliens and perhaps set up a photo shoot.

* Important information: fireflies are not found in Southern California. In South Carolina I experienced these unique insects and the lights we observed were significantly brighter and larger than fireflies. When we stepped to the side to view the lights they appeared farther away then directly above the tree.