"Hi Brody's Grandpa, I'm Jack"

On Friday, 3/21/14, Anne and I went to our 8 year old grandson Brody's baseball game.

During the game, Brody introduced me to his teammate, who instantly replied with a big smile, "Hi Brody's grandpa, I'm Jack, as he reached through the protective fence to try to shake my hand.

I was quite impressed by this little guy's remarkable level of maturity and poise for an 8 year old and enjoyed meeting him.

But at Brody's 6 year old little brother Gannon's request, most of my time was used to walk with him, around the surrounding neighborhood. Gannon is very personable and shared stories with me as we walked, while he also noted houses, trees, flowers and even a car that got his attention.

Before he told me one story, as I recall he cheerfully said, "This is a long story, do you have time to hear it?" I warmly replied, "Of course," while I thought how unusual it is for a little boy to ask such a question, and noting the phrase he used is one Uncle Gene used to use.

After we returned from our first walk, Gannon requested a Rice Krispy treat from the snack shack and soon we were off on another walk, as with the permission of their parents, we brought Gannon's friend Logan and his little sister Bella with us.

Gannon and Logan had endless energy, running here, there and everywhere but they stayed close as I watched for traffic and encouraged them not to get too far in front of me.

Anne and I also spent time with our son Kevin and our beautiful daughter in law Melody. In all it was a lot of fun to be there with everyone. These little events are among life's great joys, and as I often say, "This is life and I don't want to miss it."

Dick