Congenial former salesman likes jokes for the senior center

Dear Live Grand:

My grandpa is a gregarious guy who owned a car dealership and always had jokes and odd information for everyone. It’s sad to see that part of his personality disappear but his memory problems have made accessing his favorite jokes and entertaining tidbits difficult. Grandpa loves going to the nearby community senior center for mealtime and activities, but I know that his reputation for quips and jokes and just being “in the know” is fading and he misses that little bit of notoriety. I’m hoping to discover new interests that might distract him from what he feels slipping away but I’m not making much progress. Would a GrandPad provide him with diversions? – KS

Dear KS:

We can understand why it’s painful for you to see such an integral part of your grandpa’s personality diminished. While a GrandPad can’t reverse his memory loss the good news is that it could not just keep him occupied with diversions, it could extend his ability to entertain his friends, as well.

For a start, within the Articles app, there’s the Humor option that offers a joke a day. There’s also an abundance of other articles that may not trigger a joke but certainly would provide him with sources of information to spur entertaining conversations. For example, there’s Weekly History and Today in History so he could challenge his friends to share stories if they remember these events. Then there are articles about space, sports history, and travel. He could build his own favorite's lists that would keep the information easily accessible.

In addition to entertaining others, he would have quick access to plenty of fun games from poker to tic-tac-toe, with word games and other card games in the mix.

Then there’s the Radio app which many GrandPad users enjoy. GrandPad Radio with music and talk is a favorite but we’re thinking that for someone as social as your grandpa, Radio Recliner would be a winner. This station is hosted by DJs living in retirement settings and they allow call-ins for requests and provide opportunities for storytelling. He’d love this when he’s at home, but he could also get a group together at the senior center for a listening party.

When it comes to music GrandPad has all kinds of options. Your grandpa could choose any era he wants or a specific type such as show tunes, Big Band, classic rock, jazz, Irish, and more. He could even add his favorite songs to his own Music Collection.

From the sound of your grandpa’s personality, KS, we think that he would dive into this device with enthusiasm. If he’s been technology shy in the past, that won’t be a problem here. GrandPad’s are designed to help build digital confidence in older adults. The tablet would always give him something new to share with his table companions which we think would give him back some of his joy. Tell him that we said to keep making people laugh because that’s good for everyone!

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