T-Ball

Our grandson has started playing T-Ball. For those of you not familiar with T-Ball, it’s the introduction to baseball. The ball is hit off a tee (an adjustable post). Practice is twice a week with a game on Saturday. In the games, score is not kept, and the kids play for an hour. Each team bats all its players and then the other team is up. This continues to rotate until the hour is up. At the first game last Saturday, each side got to hit twice. It’s fun to watch the kids learn the basic skills of fielding, throwing and hitting. Last Saturday, when a ball was hit, the fielders swarmed toward the ball and sometimes jumped on each other. There is a lot to learn about fielding a ball and throwing it to first base. It’s a great way to start learning a new sport.

End of a School Year

This has been quite a kindergarten school year for our grandson and for me. We started out in September with Zoom school. I was his Zoom assistant and helped keep the computer running and assisted with craft projects. All I can say is that his teacher did an amazing job in preparation, engaging 14 squirming kids and keeping her sense of humor. In April in-person school opened up to the joy of teachers, students and parents. We had one glitch, when there was a COVID case in our grandson’s class and we had to switch back to Zoom school for a week, but other than that it went well. He made new friends and came running out of school each day when I picked him up with a smile on his face as he and his buddies chased each other around the grass in front of the school. I know some parents worried that Zoom school deprived the kids of socialization and there is truth in that, but I think kindergarteners suffered less than older students because they hadn’t experienced in-person elementary school before. Our grandson received a good start with kindergarten supplemented by two afternoons a week in an extension of his preschool program and my wife, an ex-teacher, doing workbooks with him every day. On to first grade.

Summer Activities

Compared to last summer, we have more activities planned this year. After not having seen our son and grandsons from Iowa for over a year, we look forward to a visit from them later this month with trips to the beach. Our 5-year-old grandson is participating in sports programs and having play dates with friends for the first time in over a year. My wife and I have no plans to travel this summer but expect to do that next summer.

Back to Normal — Sort Of

With the COVID infection rates declining, more things are opening up. Our grandson has been enjoying in-person kindergarten and will be starting T-ball this week. Last week, my wife and I went out for our first restaurant dinner in over a year. All of our kids and grandkids except for the 5-year-old have been vaccinated. I feel comfortable taking walks without a mask and have to remind myself to take my mask when going to locations that require masks. Progress.

Shopping in Stores Versus Online

During the pandemic, I went to the food store, but avoided other types of in-person shopping, relying upon online shopping. Now that I’m fully vaccinated, I’ve attempted to return to some in-person shopping. To be honest, the results have been disappointing. I tried to purchase two items at retail stores. In one case, they tried to sell me the pieces rather than a complete product, and in the other the salesperson couldn’t answer any of my questions. So I returned to online shopping, ordered the two items in minutes and received them in days. Like some activities during the pandemic, I expect we will will not return to the way we used to do things.

Grandson’s First Trip to the Zoo

Do you remember the first time you went to a zoo? I had the opportunity to watch my five-year-old grandson’s reactions to seeing real animals (not just pictures) when we went to the Los Angeles Zoo. Reservations were required and a limited number of people were allowed in on half hour increments. We wore masks and hiked around the whole zoo. On the way home he went through his list of the favorite animals he had seen. Two near the top of the list were giraffes and gorillas. It was an enjoyable day for all of us.

e-book Box Sets

Box sets are an interesting concept. Books in a series can be package so a reader can order them as one combined e-book. As an example, the first four books in my Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series are available in an e-Book Box Set. http://ow.ly/D2P6E These four books are Retirement Homes Are Murder, Living with Your Kids Is Murder, Senior Moments Are Murder, and Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder.

In Retirement Homes Are Murder cantankerous octogenarian Paul Jacobson must become an amateur sleuth to clear himself as a murder suspect when he finds a dead body in the trash chute of a retirement home. As Paul’s snooping and short-term memory loss get him in trouble with the local police, his new friends and granddaughter Jennifer help him solve an expanding list of crimes. Paul finds romance as he struggles to escape a murderer intent on a repeat performance.

In Living with Your Kids Is Murder Paul Jacobson must solve two murders while struggling with the problems of his short-term memory loss. As Paul ends up suspiciously close to a bank robbery, kidnapping and drug bust, his granddaughter Jennifer helps him track down the real perpetrators. Paul juggles two girlfriends, experiences the quirks of old age romance and must find a way to stay alive when he confronts a murderer.

In Senior Moments Are Murder Paul Jacobson must solve a series of murders in spite of his short-term memory loss. Paul learns about the homeless community, disreputable art dealers and the beach scene in Venice Beach, California, and dances a geezer two-step to stay out of the clutches of the police and the bad guys. 

In Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder memory-impaired amateur sleuth Paul Jacobson becomes involved in a series of crimes. On an Alaskan cruise, he must deal with mayhem, missing people and murder and use all his geezer resources to solve a case of international intrigue.