Today is my grandfather’s birthday. Here’s a picture of baby Grampa with his parents in 1900:

When this picture was taken, McKinley was still President. There were only 45 stars on the flag. Airplanes, televisions, and electronic computers didn’t exist, and telephones were luxuries. Einstein hadn’t published his paper on relativity. The keel of the Titanic hadn’t been laid. The Cubs hadn’t won their back-to-back championships. Oil hadn’t been discovered in the Middle East. The Great War was still years away.

What strikes me most about this picture is that every last strand of that insane-lookin’ hair was still anchored to his scalp on the day he died. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a haircut like that on a baby.

Grampa would’ve turned 112 today if he hadn’t died repairing the ship’s antimatter converter.