The Cool Grandpa Podcast

Had a bad bounce in life? Have you ever struggled to explain to a four-year-old grandchild that a cheese sandwich cut diagonally tastes EXACTLY the same as one cut down the middle? This week's guest, Lee Gaitan, has had those same experiences. My good friend Lee sits down with us to share her experience of being a grandmother, a mother, a wife, a teacher, and most importantly (in my book), a funny...

Ever wonder who those people go over the top at Halloween and have the best home haunt in the neighborhood? Meet Nationally recognized home haunt and prop designer expert Roger Hayes. Order your drink and pull up a chair so you can join my conversation with Roger as we catch up about all things Halloween. Rog is an old friend with whom I have had many adventures. Some adventures we even tell our w...

Ever wonder who those people go over the top at Halloween and have the best home haunt in the neighborhood? Meet Nationally recognized home haunt and prop designer expert Roger Hayes. Order your drink and pull up a chair so you can join my conversation with Roger as we catch up about all things Halloween. Rog is an old friend with whom I have had many adventures. Some adventures we even tell our w...

Well, it was bound to happen. This is my 100th episode of The Cool Grandpa Podcast! In trying to think about what to do for my 100th show, I thought about putting together a collection of stories from past interviews. I had even thought about making the whole show just kind of a party by having some of the previous guests on to chat about where they are now in their Grandpa journey or what they ha...

Manny Oliverez is on a mission to be THE FAVORITE GRAMPY. Manny is someone who didn't grow up with his grandfathers setting an example about what a grandpa should or shouldn't do. This left Manny with a clean slate to create the types of relationships he wanted with his grandchildren. We discuss Manny's reaction to hearing the news that he would become a grandfather for the first time. Hearing tha...

Dr. Abby Stephan had a unique experience as a youngster because she had an actual multi-generational household. This experience is unique because most of us in North America live with just parents and children and not with grandparents. This family environment is not the norm for a lot of families in the world. Often, those family units include the grandparents in the household structure. Within t...

Welcome into this pre-Grandparents Day conversation. The conversation is a bit short this week, but I am calling out a few things to remember about being a Grandfather and Grandparent. First , not every relationship will be exactly like we would like it to be if your relationship is not where you want it to be with your adult child, spouse, partner, or even your grandchild. Do an assessment and be...

Grandpa Jammie is back for another great conversation. In this conversation, we pick up where we left off the conversation we had on James's YouTube channel, "Really! I'm a Grandparent." About a couple of months ago, James had me on his show talking about the importance of male role models. (That conversation is available by clicking on this link and the one below) In that conversation, we started...

You must be a certain character to see the humor in almost everything. From remembrances of your own adolescent past to a baby's first and very awkward steps to your daily habits, which you have done for years but can no longer remember exactly why you do "that." Well, Jerry Zezima is that kind of character. Jerry is the needed individual that helps us see the humor and, at times, the absurdity th...

Jim Marggaff joins the conversation this week to talk about his latest company, Kinoo. Kinoo is an interactive application specifically designed to increase multigenerational relations when there is a distance between the young ones and the, let's say, more seasoned ones. If Jim's name doesn't ring a bell right off, that's okay, but I bet you know of at least one of the companies he has either sta...

Aaron Larsen stops by The Cool Grandpa Podcast to talk about his fantastic grandparents. Grandparents who not only were there to love and encourage Aaron but who also gave him needed proddings. Aaron was a young man just out of school, and his confidence when was shaken. Through love and support, his grandparents helped him to discover where he should be receiving his value and self-worth in life....

Some will say that investing in yourself is selfish and can take resources away from other needed projects or activities. I however say that the coolest grandpas work hard on investing in themselves. Why? so that those cool grandpas can then poor themselves into their family, friends, work, and hobbies. Investing into yourself is not a new concept but it is one that I think we don't pay as much at...

Carolyn Berry, from the podcast, Adventures with Grammy, joins us to discuss her experience being a grandmother AND a podcaster. We talk about her memories of learning that she would become a grandmother for the first time and what a special time that was for her. Carolyn also talks to us about how she uses her farm and trips to State and National Parks to create adventures for her grandchildren....

Michelle Booth from Make Momentos is joining us to discuss how Make Momentos enables interesting and unique connections with the young children in your life. Make Momentos is a unique product and experience where you can create a short video introduction followed by reading an enjoyable book for your grandchild, child, niece, or nephew. This conversation explores what motivated Michelle to start t...

Winn Egan is back for another conversation with us. In this episode, Winn and I dive into his personal experience with being a grandfather. You might remember that Winn was a previous guest on the show where we discussed the book, Grandparenting on Purpose, that he wrote with his wife, Linda. In our conversation, we discuss his memories of learning that he was becoming a grandfather for the first...

Stop and smell the roses. No one knows where that phrase or sentence comes from. If you know, please leave me a comment below. I like discovering the origin story of some of our popular phrases and words. I found that golfer Walter Hagen used the phrase frequently in my research. It makes sense that Walter is credited with helping Bobby Jones learn to control or deal with the stress of big-time go...

Josiah Fogle has created children's books to help his children experience the vital lessons that John Fogle instilled in him. Josiah admired his father and was influenced by him through spending years as a family in the Philippines as missionaries. Through writing about Grandpa John, Josiah has built a bridge between his father's legacy and Josiah's children, who are learning about their grandfath...

Josiah Fogle has created children's books to help his children experience the vital lessons that John Fogle instilled in him. Josiah admired his father and was influenced by him through spending years as a family in the Philippines as missionaries. Through writing about Grandpa John, Josiah has built a bridge between his father's legacy and Josiah's children, who are learning about their grandfath...

This week we are joined by two passionate individuals whose goal is to build bridges of understanding and communication between Grandparents and Grandchildren. Jerry Witkovsky and Deanna Shoss join us to discuss their new book, Where Two Worlds Meet . Jerry joins our conversation as a leader in developing organizations and programs that impact the lives of his community. Since his 1997 retirement,...

This week we are joined by two passionate individuals whose goal is to build bridges of understanding and communication between Grandparents and Grandchildren. Jerry Witkovsky and Deanna Shoss join us to discuss their new book, Where Two Worlds Meet . Jerry joins our conversation as a leader in developing organizations and programs that impact the lives of his community. Since his 1997 retirement,...

Ben Manny is an engaged grandpa, AND he is an engaged volunteer. This week, I discuss how grandfathers can support their community but mainly the children and young adults in their community. We start our conversation with Ben discussing how he is an engaged and supportive grandfather. Ben shares with us how he doesn't let being a long way away from his grandchildren stop him from being the mentor...

"Welcome back, my friends to the show that never ends. We're so glad you could attend! Come inside! come inside!" - Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I am happy to have a moment with you. I enjoy these one-on-one conversations, and I hope you find them valuable for your grandparenting journey. This month, I want to discuss steps you can take to 'prime the pump' or, in other words, plan your next visit with...

The conversation is with the founder of Babooky, Nathan Andersen, aka Anders Roseberg. In this conversation, we jump into Nathan's varied and exciting background. Nathan is self-taught when creating children's books and other writing genres. We discuss the different options for publishing books, from the print-on-demand model (Amazon model) to traditional publishing. Nathan goes into detail about...

Winn and Linda Egan developed and shared their views on grandparenting with their friends during a get-together. They discussed how grandparents could be active participants in their children's and grandchildren's lives. With more and more data being reported about issues around isolation, depression, and the like with teenagers, being an active grandparent is vital to helping grandchildren to bec...

This episode is another one-on-one conversation with you and me. I open up the conversation with a quick trip report from my last trip to Virginia the week before Easter. I spent a lot of time with my grandson, who is almost four years old. I confess that spending multiple days with him wore me out physically and mentally. It has been a long time since I chased toddlers around a playground and mus...