Grandpa Hill's True Stories

Category: Stories

All the many stories that have shaped the man known as Grandpa Hill, Donald, Don, or simply Silly Grandpa

  • The Fruitful Decision

    The Fruitful Decision

    Grandpa Hill’s True Faith and Family Story of what truly happened to him at the Latin Mass in Latrobe Pennsylvania was possible because Donald and Mary Lee made a fruitful decision, to open the womb 33 years ago. They offer to everyone their story of deciding to reverse their sterility, and, proceeding to go from a “large enough” family to a much larger family.

    Grandpa realized recently in a sudden rush of emotion that the path they chose, although less traveled, not popular, and, considered risky and ill-advised has truly made all the difference.  Grandpa Hill is not a theologian, nor doctor, nor expert on fruitful decision making.  He is just a good critical thinker, and problem solver.  It’s what he does.  When Grandma has a good thing she shares it with everyone she knows and that’s what she does.  Grandpa and Grandma believe that their decisions, acting on those decisions,  what they love, and how they love is what makes them who they truly are.

    Please enjoy this story and share it with others as you think laugh and live. Go to grandpahill-stories.org to contact us. We want to be our best at loving and caring and sharing Grandpa Hill’s True Stories with you. Your comments, stories, and needs become part of why we exist.

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill

    Music: David Richman

  • Love Hurts #1 — The Squirrel

    Love Hurts #1 — The Squirrel

    Grandpa tells a story of his love for Grandma, and a massive flying squirrel. Grandma gets very hurt. In the darkness of the new couples bedroom there is shouting, then they are crying, then—as the story comes out about the squirrel—they are laughing.

    Love Hurts #1 is the first in a series of mishaps that Grandpa and Grandma have loved each other through, in holy matrimony since 1978.  Love Hurts #1, truly happened to us!

    We hope this series of stories is especially valuable to teenagers, those dating, those betrothed, and those living in holy matrimony. Might these stories encourage you to love your spouse (or potential spouse) more deeply, laugh a little more, think, and live.

    Christ was willing to die for His spouse the Church, we likewise must love our (potential) spouse unconditionally. Unlike Christ, as sinners striving to be saints, we make mistakes, and sometimes for the best of reasons… namely Love. For love is self gift and a gift returned, but it is also a total willing the good of the other.

    Grandpa Hill was willing to sacrifice himself to save his wife from the incoming squirrel. Unintentionally he slugs Grandma, but upon awaking and finding what he has done to his wife begins crying with her, then laughing with her at dream of the flying squirrel.

    Afterwards Grandma and Grandpa reconciled, and learned a little more how to think, laugh, and live in the early years of their marriage.

    We wish you Peace on your journey,

    שָׁלוֹם, Shalom

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman,
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill

    Music & Art: David Richman
    Audience: Grandma, David, Leah, Anna, and Breandan

  • Food and Vacation Fun at Grandma Bonse’s

    Food and Vacation Fun at Grandma Bonse’s

    Every year Grandpa went, with his family, to visit his Grandma and Grandpa Bonse in Northport Michigan.  He remembers the great food especially his grandma’s raisin bread.  Yum!  Grandpa had adventures every year!   A pine forest deep and dark and quiet, and the steep grassy hills behind the barn, set the “stage” for his vacation fun.  A box of simple toys gave hours of enjoyment.  At night Grandpa and his brothers could see through the floors.   

    Two foods brought each vacation to a close.  Popcorn made by Grandpa Bonse and Chubs from town for the adults.  Gorf the frog is impressed with Grandpa’s fun and initiates a game of tree tag.  Marshmallow plays too but has his priorities, food first!    Grandpa encourages his children his grandchildren and all children set down cell phones, shut off televisions and enjoy each other and enjoy their childhood as they learn to think laugh and live.   

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman,
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill, 

    Music: Michael Steele
    Grandchildren Audience: Kyla, Lawrence, Eddie.

  • My First Car

    My First Car

    In My First Car, Grandpa wants his own car. He is 16, it is 1973 and he doesn’t want to wait until he is 18. He has money from jobs and the recent sale of Brandy (his pony).  

    Great Grandpa and Grandma Hill (his parents) do not want to repeat what happened to Grandpa’s siblings when they started driving their own cars.  Somehow Grandpa Hill was able to get his car, despite the recently formed family rule of no car until you are 18. Grandpa’s good driving, planning, his very good grades in school and his appropriate respect for his parents wishes helped him win his appeal to get a car just two months after his 16th birthday.  Within seconds after his parent’s changed their minds all was settled and he was the rightful owner of a 1964 Volkswagen 1500 to drive to school, to Detroit, or anywhere he could afford to go.  

    Marshmallow the Raccoon is very excited for Grandpa’s first car.  Gorf the Frog is concerned that Grandpa may have acted badly in going against his parents wishes.  Both of them come to think that Grandpa made a rightful appeal and his parents changed their minds.

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman,
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill, 

    Music: Michael Steele,
    Grandchildren: Joseph, Catherine, Lizzy

    image: http://classiccardb.com/volkswagen/ edited by David Richman

  • Brandy Pony is Sold

    Brandy Pony is Sold

    Grandpa Hill, decided in 1973 in the summer to sell his Brandy.  He had received Brandy for his 13th birthday.

    As horse and rider Grandpa and Brandy had been through a lot together.  Grandpa had learned to be responsible, to be a caregiver, and he learned how to ride well enough to stay on Brandy.  Grandpa still considered Brandy to be very stubborn and failed to see the steady progress of gentling that was occurring with Brandy. The plan was to sell Brandy and if possible all of his tack.

    On that fateful morning when a potential buyer came to his house Grandpa saddled up Brandy for the little girl that was going to be riding him in the future.  Grandpa was shocked and surprised by Brandy’s behavior.  The sale went through.  Grandpa had $600 from the sale of Brandy plus tack.  Now, he wanted a car! The experience with Brandy demanded that he learn a lot, and do a lot.  Getting bucked and thrown wasn’t comfortable.  Owning a horse and starting from scratch without knowledge, skill, or contacts,  required thinking.  As he remembers it he laughed a lot as he tried and tried and tried again.

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill

    Voice of Gorf: Grandpa, Voice of Marshmallow: David,
    Art: David Richman,
    Music: Michael Steele,
    Grandchildren: Joseph, Catherine, and Lizzy

  • Brandy Pony’s Geometry (Part 2)

    Brandy Pony’s Geometry (Part 2)

    Grandpa Use Geometry to master his troublesome pony. Brandy has been holding his breath while Grandpa puts on the saddle. As result of 2 pi R Brandy gains three inches of looseness on Grandpa, so Grandpa goes flying when Brandy stops for clovers. The solution: Grandpa waits for Brandy to relax, then he cinches up the straps.

    Now Grandpa is getting really good at riding, though Brandy tries his best to eject Grandpa from the saddle, but Grandpa just won’t quit. Grandpa and Brandy have many more adventures, until that fateful day when Grandpa sells Brandy.

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman,
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill

    Art: David Richman
    Music: Michael Steele
    Grandchildren: Joseph, Catherine, and Lizzy

  • Brandy Pony (Part 1)

    Brandy Pony (Part 1)

    Grandpa gets a pony for his Birthday, Brandy. Brandy, as it turns out, is a thoroughly stubborn animal who fights Grandpa every step of the way. Hours of watching and reading westerns couldn’t prepare him for this bucking bronco. It doesn’t help matters that Grandpa knows neither head or hoof about caring for horses, much less how to ride them. As a result Grandpa learns how to get bucked, and (eventually) how to stay on.

    Brandy is a difficult horse but he brings a lot of lessons. Lessons of perseverance and responsibility. Although Grandpa didn’t like getting thrown in the dirt, he still kept his duties as the owner of a horse. It was his horse, so he had to feed, water and bath it.

    By the end of the story Grandpa Hill was living his dream, as real a cow boy he would ever be, but it would be foolish to think this fence leaping horse has been broken. Tune in next time to hear of Brandy’s affection for clover, and how Grandpa used geometry to solve the problem of the Bucking Brandy.

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill

    Gorf: Grandpa, Marshmallow: David
    Art: David Richman
    Music: Michael Steele
    Grandchildren: Joseph, Catherine, and Lizzy

  • Driver’s Test

    Driver’s Test

    Grandpa tells the story of his first and only driver’s test, with his family’s old stick shift 1970 (and 1/2) Ford Torino. On this driver’s test the officer giving the test asked Grandpa a very important question, “Do you know how fast you are going?”

    Although Grandpa didn’t quite learn it then, this story brings up lessons regarding honesty and safety while driving. The officer did pass the test, but perhaps only because he was amused by Grandpa’s creative answer.

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill

    Art: David Richman,
    Music: Michael Steele,
    Grandchildren: Joseph, Catherine, Lizzy

  • Navigator Brian

    Navigator Brian

    Brian the Navigator, Grandpa Hill’s True Story about one of his son’s amazing ability to know where he was and which way to go at the age of five. This story recounts what really happened to Grandpa Hill and his family in the summer of 1985.

    There was a heated discussion, between the parents of a young family, while in an overheated car, on a hot day, in a hot congested snarl of traffic.   Brian’s excellent navigation skills got the family out of a jam.  It was smooth sailing from there.  From a pending disaster in downtown Chicago the family vacation trip was rescued by Brian’s keen interest in maps.

    At the end, Gorf and Marshmallow are lost too, and discuss the importance of studying maps, and to be helpful in your own situation.

    This story on how the Hill family dealt with the tension. It is for Grandpa Hill’s 8 children, his 22 grandchildren, and all children.  Grandpa’s goal is to help the listeners  get out of their own tense situations and figure out ways to make it easier to think more, laugh more, and live abundantly.

    Credits:

    Produced by David Richman
    Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill

    Music: Michael Steele,
    Art: David Richman,
    Grandchildren: Joseph, Catherine, and Lizzy

  • Sandy and Her Seizures

    Sandy and Her Seizures

    Grandpa Hill’s  true health story “Sandy and Her Seizures”  tells how connection and love and critical thinking about health issues came together and resulted in Sandy not having seizures anymore.  When Bernadette finally gets Dean and Don (Grandpa Hill) together, the synergy of the information that gets shared leads to a speedy recovery for Sandy.

    This story could have had a very sad end.  Medical care givers had concluded that not much could be done for Sandy.   Dean’s  ideas and direction for Sandy’s care had been dismissed by the Doctor’s.   With conviction Dean moved forward, and got the treatment Sandy needed.  

    This true event in Grandpa Hill’s life motivates him to tell his stories, share his opinions, as he thinks laughs and lives.  Please share the story with everyone!  Grandpa Hill is confident that the lives of many will be so much better if you do.