Ideate

5 Lessons My Grandfather Taught Me

by Fred Roed on 15/09/08 at 7:00 am
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My grandfather died 4 days ago at the age of 96. Konrad Laurentius Villesen arrived on Earth in 1912 in a small village in Denmark. He left at 4pm on Thursday in Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town.

Morfar, as we called him, was an extraordinary man. His death has left us all shaken because we figured he’d reach his century easy. He’d recently lost his dog, Mike Tyson, which had come with him all the way from Denmark 14 years previously. It turns out that his beloved Ty’s death was a blow too much for him.

The thing about Morfar is that everyone who met him, remembers him. In Fish Hoek, where he lived the past 6 years, he became a bit of a legend. Most people will remember the old guy with the grumpy white dog, walking twice a day. In our family, we can fill a whole evening telling famous ‘Morfar stories’. Like the one where he attended a dinner with my dad’s work friends, and he let out a loud fart after being bored senseless with business talk. My dad flashed a furious look at him, and he responded ‘What? What? The queen farts, doesn’t she?’

So, in remembrance of my grandfather, here are the top 5 lessons I learned from an extra special human being:

1. Live life passionately

My grandfather lived life with a huge amount of passion. This gave everyone around him undue stress, but it sure made people admire him. My grandparents received a letter from the Danish queen congratulating them on 60 years of marriage. My grandmother, who died in 1994, will be remembered partly for the fact that she was a a classic old lady who stuck by her hooligan husband along all his wild adventures.

2. Make your introductions memorable

My grandfather practically invented personal branding. Once, when a mate of mine was sitting on the loo at my parent’s house, Morfar burst in and introduced himself. ‘I must apologise,’ he said to my horrified friend, ‘My grandson is very rude. My name is Konrad. What’s yours?’

3. Eat carrots and apple

My grandfather swore by a daily ritual of grated carrots and apple. He’d tell me reverently that it makes you fart like a steam train, but it’s darn good for you. Incidently, Morfar also believed that farting keeps you healthy. This is another way he made himself memorable. He ate lots of boiled cabbage and drank Guinness. It must have worked, since he was still walking vigorously until a few weeks ago.

4. Stand up for your beliefs

My granddad and I went to watch a movie some years back. Outside the movie house there was an art gallery, and I commented on an super realist painting, saying ‘What’s the point? Why not just enlarge a photograph?’ Morfar, who was a painter himself, flew into a rage. In front of all the cinema goers, he ranted at me, shouting ‘How dare you? What do you know about art?’ and then lectured me about how everyone has their own way of expressing themselves. I realised quickly that Morfar passionately defended his beliefs, no matter where he was or how embarrassing the context. His rant must have made an impact, since I now sell super realist oil paintings as a sideline business.

5. Sometimes, it’s great to be naked

When I was around 20 years old, my parents went on a weekend away and asked me to look after their house. My grandfather had recently arrived from Denmark and was living with in the spare bedroom. I assumed Morfar had gone with my folks so I partied hard the Friday night, woke up late on Saturday and then made myself a hangover breakfast. While I was in the kitchen, I heard suspicious noises down the passageway. Thinking it may be an intruder, I skulked around the house with a carving knife following the sounds. Suddenly, from around the corner, a pale white figure jumped out and shouted an ear-splitting ‘WA HAH!’ It was my grandfather, bare-ass naked, grinning from ear to ear. He told me later that he also thought he was alone in the house, and had promptly taken off all his clothes. ‘Sometimes,’ he explained, ‘it’s just great to be naked.’

Morfar, the coolest grandfather in history, I will miss you forever. Thanks for all the great laughs, and all the special memories.

Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.

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