How it all started...

I was 50 years old when my first grandchild was born. Your first grandchild, like your first child, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some would think this would make one feel old... suddenly being a grandfather. But as my grandson grew older I discovered that I grew younger. His imagination and sense of adventure were like a fountain of youth for me. And I realized that I had once seen the world through those eyes... when I was his age. But the world has a way pounding that excitement and wonder out of you.

On a long flight I had time to think about the magic that happened when my grandson came around... and the idea took off, well, like a rocket. The rocket became an analogy for the boost, the rush and the adventure he brought when he came around. By the end of the flight I had the entire verse and rhyme scribbled down. I shared it with with family and friends and they said it should be a book... particularly other parents and especially grandparents. But the most encouragement came from my grandson himself so I knew it had to be done.

The words and pictures...

The story tumbled out in the verses and rhymes found below. It is written in a light hearted cadence that sounds like the children's books I grew up with and had pulled out again to read to my grandson. But there's a message in there for all of us "alleged" grown-ups as well.

I've spent my entire career in advertisng, sales and marketing... creating words and pictures as a mercenary of marketing and mercantile. It didn't start out that way. When I was in art school the dream was to create pictures that captured the human condition and told stories that could move people by sharing my own experiences and point of view. But somehow the world pushed me to push commerce. Industry replaced inspiration. And while the ads I created and presentations I designed were somewhat fulfilling they fell far short of that original dream.

But now my grandson has given me the story and I'm creating the pictures to go along with the words. The book is, in a way, a story about the book... recapturing the dreams you had and bringing them back to life no matter how long ago or forgetten they may be. 

Who the book is for...

The book is for every generation and every age... whether you are the grandparent or the grandchild or the parent in-between the two. It can reawaken memories for the grandchild who is grown or the save the memories for the young grandchild who will treasure their time with Grandpa when they read the book. The moral of the story - keeping a sense of childlike wonder - is universal to us all. It can be a gift to a grandparent from the grandchild and the parent in-between or a gift from the grandparent to the grandchild. It is meant to be shared and become a self-fulfilling story. The book helps the readers to realize the special experience and bond they have right in front of them and relish every moment that it provides.

The plans...

Plans are to finish illustrations over the next three months and publish this as a full color printed book. This will allow us to get it out in the marketplace in September for distribution in time for Christmas. We will also be creating an interactive, narrated version of the book for iPad which will be sold through the App Store. The project is about and defined by grandchildren and seeing my grandchildren loving books... and Grandma's iPad too... tells me it needs to be printed on paper and on the iPad as well.

The story... Grandpa's Rocket Ride

Grandpa was tired
Or maybe just bored
He dozed in his chair
And started to snore

Then the door flew open
With a crash and a boom
And in came his Grandson
To light up the room

Grandma just smiled
As she looked in the den
She knew where they were going
And it was not where he had been                                         

“Be careful, slow down
You’ll knock something over
You’re being too loud
You’re waking up Rover”

But just as he spoke
Grandpa felt a little spark
Some long-lost excitement
And Rover started to bark

It was a piece of magic
That sometimes seems rare
But all boys have had it
It’s made of wonder and dare

Many may lose it
But they can get it back
If they have a Grandson
He has what they lack

“Come on Grandpa
Let’s go for a ride
I’ve got a rocket
And you know how to fly"

Let’s fly over things
That I’ve never seen
You can tell me about them
And what they all mean”

As that spark brightened
The rocket, it grew
They both jumped on board
And off they flew

They flew out of the house
And into the blue
Stopped off at the park
And went to the zoo

They stopped at the swings
Grandpa taught him to pump
And looked at the camels
With water in their humps

They flew to the fire station
To see trucks and ladders
Or just to the store
It really didn’t matter

Wherever they went
And wherever they flew
What Grandpa saw as old
Became fresh and new

Something happened to Grandpa
And to the Grandson too
The Grandson got wiser
But Grandpa did too

The world will tell you
There’s no rocket to fly
So you put it away
And grow up with a sigh

But the rocket’s not gone
It’s just been in "Park"
Waiting for a grandson
To give it a spark

You never grow old
You just get tired of the view
A new pair of eyes
Can make it shiny and new