Judah at Fourteen

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Grandpa

My grandson, Judah Files (who lives in Oregon), is celebrating his fourteenth birthday today.  When I spoke to his mother – my daughter, Molly – last night she told me that Judah would be having a party at their house today, an event which he has planned.  It will have a “Minecraft” theme and one of the entertainments will be a Minecraft-related video.  Judah selected the type of cake to be served at the party and the friends from school that he wanted to invite – and all responded that they would be attending.  (It must be nice to be so popular!)  This is apparently the first time that Judah has ever been particular about a party, and his mother was quite pleased that he took control of the event.
 
I don’t know much about “Minecraft” except that it is extremely popular and tends to focus on building and construction instead of warfare – and it is apparently something that kids can do together over the internet.  Judah, the first video game that I ever played was a type of ping-pong, and the last one that I tackled was “The Oregon Trail.”  I fly over much of the Oregon Trail when I come to visit you and your brother and sister.
 
Judah’s school has some type of actual coffee shop that the students occasionally work in while learning commerce skills.  I understand that Judah is a whiz at managing the cash register.
 
The last time Judah and his family came to the Ozarks to visit me was the summer of 2022, and at that time he had a big interest in the Titanic.  When the Files family left West Plains they traveled to Branson where one of the sights they took in was the "Titanic Museum."  I understand that was a big hit, especially with Judah.  Two of his current interests are space and weather, and he seems to really be keen on weather events that make the news, things like tornadoes.
 
Happy birthday, Judah.  Fourteen is a great age, enjoy it!