Grandpa,
I am a member of my senior class committee to recommend individuals to speak at our graduation. I want to nominate you. How much do you charge for a speaking engagement? Could you speak to our class about what it takes to be a success in life? How would our school get in touch with you? I would really like to have you talk at my graduation.
Grandpa says; Your kind words turn my head. Thank you for the offer. Grandpa does not do public appearances. Grandpa does not commercialize the gifts handed down to me by my ancestors. I just sit at my little desk by the fireplace and answer my mail. That has worked well for me for more than six years with The Voice. Thank you for your kind offer.
Grandpa,
I am tired of looking at my husband. We have been married (more than 60 years). We got married right out of high school. He was a basketball player and very good at it. He always talked about some day he would go to college and make something of himself. He never did. He is a failure.
He has always worked in menial jobs. All he ever did right was buy a house. It took 30 years to pay that mortgage. Then 15 years ago he up and quit his job. We live on Social Security and the goodness of the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry. And we get Link. I am tired of looking at his frail, old, body. And his mind is going.
I used to love him so much. Then I just got used to him. Now I am sick of looking at him. I want to put him in a home, but then I wouldn’t be able to live without his Social Security. Help me choose what to do.
Grandpa says; Author Henry David Thoreau said, “it is not what you look at that matters, it is what you see.” You look at your man and you see a failure, a broken down old man who hasn’t worked since his mid-60s. You see a man whose mind has seen the ravages of life.
I suggest you take off your glasses and put on a different pair. Not a pair that a doctor can prescribe. A pair made purely from the love you originally felt for the basketball player. Now, with this magical pair of love spectacles, look at a man who gave up a dream of college and career to pursue the greater dream of spending his life with the woman he loved. See the man who went to work every day with a determination of mind and song in his heart all for the love of you. See a man who bought a home for you and worked tirelessly to get the mortgage paid. See a man who shoveled the sidewalk so you would not fall. See a man who came home from a low-paying job to spend his evenings with you. See a man who craved the embrace of your arms. Then you will see the man won basketball games.
Got something stuck in your craw? Ask Grandpa. Address your letters to Ask Grandpa c/o The Voice, 314 N. Lake Street, Suite 2, Aurora, IL 60506 or send an E-mail to askgrandpa@thevoice.us.