Sitting in my favorite chair enjoying a classic fall, New England afternoon my grandsons continue to pester me. They cannot sit still and be quiet for more than 5 minutes without being entertained. At my old age it is hard for me to find the energy to keep up with these children ages 8, 12, and 16 when my son Jeffrey asks me to babysit. Small things motivate me like getting the 16 year old to come out of his shell as he sits there like a classic teenager trying to find himself. The youngest is too young to understand my stories but still pretends and fakes it so he can be involved. On the contrary, the middle child surprisingly has a remarkable attention span as he loves to listen to my tales from my youth. Their favorite stories of mine are when I worked with one of the most interesting and accomplished human beings, Benjamin Franklin.
The middle child constantly talks of how he wants to be just like "Frank" when he "grows up".
"Is today a Frank day?" I say to the children, shortening Franklin to "Frank" because the younglings prefer this brevity and they think the name "Frank" is humorous. The two youngest grandsons stand up and yell with youthful enthusiasm "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" while the oldest tries to look cool and mature. He still gives his head nod to me indicating he is also engaged in the story. "Before we begin this tale, tell me what you know about Benjamin Franklin so far." I said sternly to the kids looking for an educated answer. "Frank is an inventor!" the youngest yells out quickly before the older two could say anything. The youngest loves to prove that he listens even though he probably doesn't even know what...