grandpa Bob and the printer

Grandpa Bob and the printer

Writers in the Grove hosting children

awaiting a coloring book story of a hero

having their own name

excited, thrilled that the book was to be

of themselves

but the printer balked and only spat out

pages one by one when it would

we had the children color extra pages

but the wait weighed longer and longer

poor Bob ‘Grandpa’ Kratz had worked

many hard weeks to set up the event

how he hated to disappoint those kids

creative grandpa bob

grandpa bob created a story about a brave child

finding a way to defeat the monster under the bed

at the fair, he printed that story complete with colorful illustrations

he filled in each particular child’s name and age

then handed the booklet to her or him and watched

round eyes light up as they heard their name as the hero of the tale

children he didn’t know but cared about as only a doting grandpa can