Futurist Jim Carroll"Sometimes it's not the risk itself you need to worry about. It's what you do to prepare for the risk that does you in." - Futurist Jim Carroll
One day, a few years ago learned that my biological grandfather died in 1925 in a stunt-motorcycle accident - on an Indian motorcycle, nonetheless - after he rode his 'show' which was known as the "Wall of Death." Not only that, but his death appears to be due to a malfunction of the front fork of the Indian motorcycle he rode to perform the 'death-defying stunt' - only to have that front fork fail as a result of the modifications that he likely did himself necessary to perform the stunt!
That means, he didn't die from the inherent risk that came from participating in a wildly dangerous carnival stunt - it came from the careful preparation! And so sometimes it's not the risk itself that gets you, but what you've done to prepare for the risk that does you in.
How's that for the opening line to a blog post!
Let's dig in! Today is a good day to share the story - after sharing the story of what I learned about my dad in World War 2, once I obtained his war records, I thought I would once again dig into my history. The essence of the story is this: my biological grandfather on my dad's side, an American citizen, was actually a stunt motorcycle rider - and it cost him his life. I only discovered the whole story and my genetic relatives a few years ago, due to the connective power of DNA tracing.
What follows below is what I found and what my long-lost relative found. Once I had all that information, I fed a lot of the news articles and background below to Gemini AI, and then built two slide decks that tell the story. I do this for ultimately sharing with my grandchildren, so that the legacy might live on.
An interesting angle? The analysis concluded, from its research, that it was likely the modifications to the front fork were what caused his tragic accident:
The backstory? Growing up, I always knew that my original name was not Carroll, but Morrell. I knew my dad lost his dad at the age of 3, and that he was raised by his mom and stepfather. Beyond that, all I ever knew was that he had died in a motorcycle accident.
Fast forward to December 2018, when, through a DNA match, I began to find the real story.
To make a long story short, by the very next morning, I was standing at the grave of my biological grandfather with my long-lost 2nd cousin Ken Keeley of Norwich. He had, some months earlier, taken the time to do all the research that I had never managed to do, such as finding my grandfather's gravestone. He, too, had grown up hearing the mysterious stories of a great-uncle who met an untimely end.
What a story it is! When we met, Ken had unearthed some photos ... including this one of my grandfather at the "Metro Bro's Silo-Drome" which features "The Most Reckless, Death Defying Stunts." My grandad is on the far left.
The wording on the Silodrome itself says it all:
"Don't miss it, so hazardous and blood-curdling. Death-defying stunts or satisfactory money refunded."
Read the rest of the post for this fascinating story!
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Futurist Jim Carroll has never been, fortunately, a big fan of motorcycles.
#Risk #History #Legacy #Preparation #Family #Danger #Stunts #Discovery #Heritage #Consequences #indianmotorcycle #wallofdeath
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