I woke up Tuesday morning, October 30, to a text from you:

HI. I’m trying to skip school tomorrow because I “don’t feel good” and am wondering if you could do something.  My Mom is cool with it but I’m not sure my Dad’s convinced. What are you up to today?

What an awesome way to start a new day – an invitation from my grandson to spend the day together.   Later, your Dad told me “pretty cool that he wants to hang with his granddad on his day off.”

So true, I’m the luckiest guy on the planet. I can’t think of anything more gratifying.

The coolest part of being together? Our far ranging discussions.  You’ve got a curious mind, are as bright as the North Star and aren’t shy about sharing your knowledge or expressing your thoughts and opinions. I love that because it all adds up to fun conversations.  To make my point, here’s a shortlist of what we covered:

What Trump’s done to deserve impeachment

the shape of submarine propellers and how they work

service men & women who died on submarines; claustrophobia and tiny bed bunks

The tagline of Elizabeth Warren – “Dream big, fight hard.”  (you knew it off the top of your head; impressive)

starting a company; being an entrepreneur, the early days

One Tree Planted, the environmental movement that’s planting a tree for every dollar raised

https://onetreeplanted.org/pages/about-us

why board games are so cool (your view; I agree)

Popular election vs. the Electoral College

You picked out a harmonica at Macro Polo, our favorite funny store. I explained the importance of blowing out and sucking in when playing “the harp.”  Some famous music artists didn’t know this when they started!

My souvenir at Macro Polo was a tiny tiny can of “Impeachmints”

Gumby

last night’s concert at OR High when you planed bass guitar, drums and acoustic guitar – how the songs were chosen

hockey

Spotify, why it’s awesome  and how to create annual favorite song playlists

William Whipple, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence

model trains and miniature sets

G.I. Joe

learning how to maneuver through a VR reality

Like I said, this is only a shortlist.  I bet we talked about 50 other things. So cool. Darn lucky to have you in my life.

Per our typical get together extravaganzas, we packed the day with as much cool stuff as possible. It included:

Albacore submarine museum

a visit to the location of the first Beaupre & Co. Public Relations office (located at 208 Market Street in Portsmouth). We went up the stairs and I showed you the area where Grammy and I (and a few employees) occupied one side of the second floor (we had four offices, linked together with doors).

a walk through Portsmouth including St. John’s Church where George Washington attended a Sunday service

Bennett’s for yummy cheese steak subs

Museum of Dumb Guy stuff (trains, tanks, dogs and neat old guys with cool hobbies)

Macro Polo store laughs (what no fake dog poo? look, giant underwear!)

candy & shakes in Durham

Virtual reality gaming at your house

playing Risk

Toward the end of the day you said “It will be hard to do this next year when I’m in high school.”  That hit hard. These are special days. I hope we can find a way to keep our special get together’s alive, no matter how old we are.

Love you C-man.