Retired finish carpenter played country music while working

Dear Live Grand:

My Grandpa was a finish carpenter who did his most creative work with country music playing in the background. He’s retired now and lives alone. Mom says he’s okay, but she knows he misses both woodworking and his music. The challenge is that radio stations here no longer play the older style that he likes, and music players frustrate him. His hands and knees won’t allow woodworking anymore but maybe there’s some way to bring back his music. Could a GrandPad do that? – AP

Dear AP:

Music is so good for people that you are right on target to want to give your grandpa back his joy. A GrandPad could do that and far more.

Since he loves country music, let’s begin there. Within the Music app, there’s a designated country option so in a flash, he’d be back to playing his favorite style of music. If he taps Add to Collection, the song he’s listening to would be saved so he’d build his own playlist. By tapping Play Music in Background his music would continue while he investigates other interesting options on GrandPad.

The Radio app has a country music pre-set as well as GrandPad Radio which is a favorite with many older adults. Radio Recliner is a fun station that features shows hosted by people living in retirement situations. The family admin can add others.

Then there’s the Games app. Your grandpa could give poker, slots, bingo, or the memory game a try. There are even game nights and tournaments with prizes!

We’re thinking, too, that he’d be interested in GrandPad’s safe Internet app for watching woodworking videos on YouTube as well as for videos taken at country music shows and festivals.

You sound like you’re from a close family so most likely there are lots of photos that he’d love having regular access to. With a GrandPad, the family admin would upload the pictures and your grandpa could view them using his Photos app which also supports videos.

Speaking of videos, family and good friends could easily enjoy video chats with him. The image of the caller from his contacts would appear when a call comes through, and he’d just touch Answer. If he wanted to call one of you, he’d touch the call button below the person’s picture. That’s it! All of these features are safe because the only calls and emails he’d receive would be from people the family admin adds to his contacts.

If your family likes Zoom calls, he’d have easy access to them through his own streamlined Zoom app. This means that he could be included in extended family time even when people are at a distance.

He’d have access not only to his local weather conditions, but his Weather app would show him the weather in his contacts’ locations, too.

With a GrandPad, AP, your grandpa would not only be back to listening to his beloved country music, but he’d be expanding his interests into whole new categories!

Live Grand is a weekly column brought to you by GrandPad — the simplest, safest tablet-based solution that helps reconnect families.