PixlBit

My grandmother passed away last week. My mom and I were with her when she died. We had in-home hospice set up, so she died at home, as she wanted. I'm not telling you this for sympathy, just so you all know why I've been absent for so long.

My gramma was an intelligent, inquisitive woman, and liked to ask people deep, philosophical questions. She liked a good debate. She used to invite the Mormans, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other religious folks knocking at the door in. She'd tell them right up front they weren't going to convert her. Then she'd offer them tea and cookies, lull them into a false sense of security, and then hit them up with the theological and philosophical questions. It was a riot to listen in on. She was a non-denominational Christian who believed in letting people choose their own religious path, as long as it didn't infringe on anyone else's.

That inquisitiveness and open-mindedness led to a lot of really interesting discussions between the two of us. We'd be eating a meal at the dining room table and having discussions about just about anything from religion to travel to evolution to politics (one of her last wishes was to have a Bernie Sanders sign put up on the lawn). But I never thought I'd ever discuss video games with her. However, one lunchtime, she asked me what I found attractive about video games. I asked why she was interested, and she told me she'd read an article in the AARP Magazine about the use of video games to help seniors keep mentally sharp. I explained about different types of games, and which ones I liked playing and why. She was fascinated by the amount of choice that is out there, and that they aren't all beat 'em ups or shooters. She wasn't interested in playing games herself, but the fact that she was curious and open-minded enough to ask me about them was both surprising and very cool. But that was my gramma, she loved learning about new things and never let herself be closed-minded about anything.