Some jobs carry a lot of prestige, glamour and worldwide recognition. A few, however, are not too interested in those sorts of things. We do not care who knows what we do, as long as we know what we are doing and why we are doing it, which is all right with us.

Our entire country honors the military forces, and such we should for the fine job they do protecting our country. In just about every community, emergency personnel are honored for the wonderful job they do in keeping our homes safe. What would we do without these wonderful people and the great job they are doing for us.

I do not have a jealous bone in my body, I am glad these people get their due recognition and I would not want it take a sliver of it for myself. I revel in my incognito and enjoy what I am doing without recognition.

I posed a simple question. Where would all these good people be without their grandparents? I am too humble to suggest that grandparents are the backbone of this wonderful country of ours. It is true. But you did not hear it from me.

Just think of where this country would be if it were not for grandparents?

Parents have a hard time, especially in today's culture and economy. If they have a job their priority is to keep that job whether they like it or not. Sometimes, when these weary parents come home from work they are a tad grouchy. Who’s to blame them? They sure have a tough time of it.

Then there is the end of the month when they have more month than money and are trying to figure out what to pay and what to postpone. This in and of itself is enough to make the most jovial person cranky. There never is enough time or money for a family to do what they would like to do.

Enter the grandparents. Grandparents are God’s solution to cranky and grouchy parents. God does everything he can to protect these innocent children so he has given to them grandparents.

The job of a grandparent is totally different from the parent’s. Grandparents have an edge on this because they raised those parents and know them inside out. Therefore, every grandparent knows how to get around their grandchildren's parents and help those darling little grandchildren to have some fun.

I personally believe that the purpose of childhood is to exploit fun. No child has the ability to take full advantage of this kind of exploitation on their own. They need help. Who better to help them then grandparents?

Of the two grandparents it is the grandfather who has to come to the rescue more times than not. Grandmothers just do not have what it takes all the time to help the grandchildren exploit a situation to the fullest extent of fun.

It is not the grandmother's fault. After all, she is a woman first. Women, as everybody knows, are rather addicted to rules.

For example. Grandmothers insist on enforcing the rules established by the children's parents. Those rules usually include, an established bedtime every night, a limit on how much candy should be consumed at any one time, and always finishing everything on your dinner plate. Then grandmothers have this thing about doing chores around the house.

For this reason, God put his best thinking cap on and come up with an antidote to grandmothers. The remedy for all of this nonsense is simply grandfathers.

It is the grandfather's responsibility to intercede on the grandchildren's behalf and make sure they have as much fun as possible.

When it comes to rules, grandfathers are quite flexible.

One of the best rules from the Grandfather Rulebook has to do with bedtime. According to the rulebook, no grandchild should go to bed with the singular purpose of going to sleep. Bedtime is not a time to sleep but rather a time to practice aerobics on the bed. It would be a disgrace if a child ever reached his or her teenage years and was not an expert at bed calisthenics.

Also, according to this rulebook, dinnertime is not so much a time to be but rather a time to learn new jokes. Woe be unto the child who has dinner their grandparents without learning one new joke. Cleaning your dinner plate is not as nearly important as wearing yourself out with laughter. After all, if God really wanted us to clean up our dinner plate why did he invent the refrigerator?

This rulebook further states that any grandfather worth his membership in the grandfather union must be amply supplied with jellybeans. There is a hefty fine involved for running out of jellybeans.

When grandmother says, "I think the children have had enough sugar for the evening," grandfather must take charge. There is no such thing, according to the Grandfather Rulebook, of any grandchild having too much sugar.

It is not that grandfathers violate the rules; they just operate from a different rulebook then grandmothers.

The Bible says, "The hoary [gray] head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city" (Proverbs 16:31-32 KJV).

The Christian grandfather is the fulfillment of this Scripture.