Grandpa Hill has done many unusual things and many of them happened on his annual back packing trip with the Hill and Richman Family. For the past 30 years he has gone backpacking with his family and the Richman family. On this trip Grandpa came eye to eye with a bat. Grandpa was alone. They both wanted the same watering hole. They sipped and they parted their ways.
Think laugh and live, and, share share, share, these stories. Thank you for sharing and thank you for listening. Grandpa Hill of Grandpa Hill’s True Stories.
Credits:
Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill
Welcome to another one of Grandpa Hill’s True Stories. Don and Mary are going up North to Michigan Tech in 1977. They would secure a place up at the college for Don to stay, with Bruce for his last year prior to getting married. Late at night as they travel along interstate I-75 near the intersection with M-72 Mary sees a light in the distance and slams on the brakes. The car shakes hard as the old brakes struggle to slow it down!
Then it appeared, there was a wreck. There were injuries. Soon Grandpa was off down the hill to rescue one of the drivers that had been in the collision.
Don is so grateful for Mary’s super sighting of a tiny light, late at night on the freeway, and her quick and accurate reaction that had saved the day, and probably the lives of several people.
Credits:
Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill
On St. Patrick’s Day, 1975, Mary Lee Mack met Donald Paul Hill in the library of the high school in Rochester Michigan. That was the day that Don’s girl friend realized she was his girlfriend.
Don had been so anticipating having Mary as his girlfriend and so anxious about being rejected that he struggled to tell Mary of his intentions. “Everything had to be just right,” was the excuse Don had for not askingMary to go out with him on a date.
Listen and learn what $1 and a green carnation had to do with the start of Grandma’s and Grandpa’s togetherness, as they have learned to think, laugh a lot, and live life well.
Although this story is not how Don recommends that couples should start their relationships. It is, as best as Don can remember, the truth about how it all started 48 years ago on St. Patrick’s 1975.
Credits:
Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill
Music: David Richman Art: Amy Steele In the audience: Grandma Hill
Grandpa is taking his daughter Amy across the fields of western Wisconsin in 1990. The two of them had come out of the woods away from the rest of the group. The Romo’s children, and their mom, Mrs Teresa Romo and Don and his four children had spent the late morning hours foraging for medicinal herbs and wild foods.
They had experienced seeing baby raccoons in an old tree stump. They had gotten a few mosquito bites and now the push was to get back to the farm house. Little did they know that off of the beaten path there would be an old fence line and there would be bees! Bumblebees!
As they were crossing the last fence line, Amy disturbs a modest nest of bumblebees. She gets stung and immediately starts to swell. Donald knows that their visit with the Romo’s would now get cut short with a trip to the emergency room. Amy has many allergies and bee stings is one of them.
When they get to the farm house her hand is quite swollen. As Don and Mary Lee start to fuss, there is no alarm from Teresa. She pulls out a wild grape leaf from her bag we had filled that morning. She places it in shallow water in a frying pan on the stove. The leaf becomes soft and thick. Teresa proceeds to wrap Amy’s badly swollen hand in the grape leaf and we proceeded to fix lunch.
Before Amy sits down to her lunch, the swelling is completely gone. What Benadryl couldn’t do in an hour, the grape leaf had done in just minutes. Grandpa learned the healing powers of a grape leaf. He also learned a lesson about knowledge, being curious, and the importance of sharing what you know with others.
Gorf and Marshmallow also marvel at the power of a grape leaf and how smart, resourceful and wise Mrs Romo is. Semloh takes the opportunity to teach Gorf and Marshmallow a relevant lesson about knowledge and learning.
How did Mrs. Romo know of the power of a grape leaf and the value of dozens of other plants that grew in her own “back yard”?
Please share often, follow, and listen often to Grandpa Hill’s True Stories as you and your children learn to think and then laugh and live life fully.
Credits:
Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill
Gorf: Grandpa Marshmallow: David Richman Semloh: David Richman Music: Michael Steele Art: Amy Steele Grandchildren in the audience: Annette, Breandan, Eoghan, David
Part 3: Day 4, Day 5, Day 6. Stuck in Marion Michigan.
Grandpa Hill and his friends leave Wilson State Park, where their neighbors had taken them after their highly unlikely and very fortuitous chance meeting the day before. They headed out of the park on what would come to be known as the “disaster day.” The road was clear… until it wasn’t.
There is a tractor trailer truck in the opposing lane, going 70 or 80 mph. The gust from the speeding truck makes the bikes wobbly and some of them fall down. The bikers are a little scraped up, but even worse Bill’s bike is busted. It’s 3 miles to Marion Michigan, the next closest town. They’d have to walk.
In Marion, after a catastrophic attempt to fix the bike, Grandpa Hill and his friends don’t have much to do, but they sure are hungry. There was not a crumb left of their lunch. The bikers run into a little trouble with the Police Chief and Fire Chief. In their opinions the group of bikers were too friendly with the police chief’s daughter. They had their ways of expressing their disapproval. Nonetheless, the girls did tell them about the park where they set up camp. Its raining, and the bikers find refuge playing cards in the town hall.
Day 5 Grandpa and Bill hitch hike to Cadillac Michigan to get a new bike wheel, and they come back to accusations of breaking into the laundry-mat, and the bikers agree to leave town the next day. With Bill’s bike fixed they leave Marion Michigan behind. Just before they go they witness an exciting chariot race.
Grandpa and his friends met a lot of challenges in Marion. They didn’t give up. With rapidly emptying pockets, frequently empty stomachs, and a broken bike they kept on going.
Credits:
Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced and Recorded by Grandpa Hill
Art: David Richman, Music: Michael Steele, Grandchildren in Audience: Caleb, Corbin and Walter.
This story isn’t really about Devil’s night, a night of tricks and pranks. It is a story about an unfortunate—or rather fortunate—course of events that led to Sparky becoming the dog of Grandpa Hill’s family, way back when he was a just a boy of 11 years old.
It was 1967 on a foggy Devil’s Night in Rochester Michigan. A prank was played on a most unfortunate family and their dog. The next morning when the fog was still thick, Grandpa discovered there at the end of the driveway the Devil’s Night Dog, a young black and white Smooth Fox Terrier. The sweetest and barkiest dog there ever was… maybe. Nonetheless, the situation needed to be remedied.
Grandpa’s family knew the drill. They needed to find the owner and let them know what had happened to their terrier. They tried and failed. What happened next was a few years of fun love and happy times with Sparky. One day Sparky took off for his normal morning run. He was normally back at the house within an hour. That day Sparky was brought home dead. He was killed by a neighbor’s dog. Gorf and Marshmallow help the young listener to think through Sparky’s death and how it may have shaped Grandpa Hill’s life and what lessons may have been learned.
Credits:
Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill
Gorf: Grandpa Marshmallow: David Richman Music: Michael Steele Art: David Richman Grandchildren in the audience: Kyla, Lawrence, Eddy, and Levi
This story is about Grandpa Hill and his grandfather, Grandpa Bonse. “Donny Boy” got turtle soup for his birthday and learned to consider carefully what he really wanted in his life. In this case he was very excited to get a special meal that he was sure was the best ever. Grandpa Bonse had to make his regular visit to the garbage dump near North Port MI. Then he had Donny Boy look in a barrel of turtles, then they enjoyed a great lunch. Grandpa Bonse enjoyed teaching Donny Boy this way. Grandpa Hill (Donny Boy) enjoyed learning this way. He felt loved.
Gorf the frog and Marshmallow the raccoon discuss the eating of frogs and turtles. What you think about your food plays a big part in whether you will like it or not. Grandpa did some thinking about his highly desired soup and then it wasn’t quite so desired. Marshmallow mostly thinks about eating more not what it is that he is eating. Gorf handles the whole story pretty well. Gorf does get tense with all the talk about eating things like frogs. Marshmallow reminds Gorf again that he won’t be consuming frogs any time soon.
Credits:
Produced by David Richman, Executively Produced by Grandpa Hill
Music: Michael Steele, Art: David Richman, Grandchildren in Audience: Annette & Breandan
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
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.
