"Grandpa, Grandpa," the kids yelled running to sit around the fire, where their oldest family member sat rocking and staring bemusedly at the fire, "tell us another story about when you were young, tell us about the apocky-lapse!"

The old man chuckled, "Well, you're all getting older, I think its about time you heard the story about how I survived to see such a wonderful family before me, each one of us healthy and happy! Its not a happy story, but you've learned by now that life is rough, it was before the bad times, and it still is afterward."

Then he smiled, suddenly, a twinkle in his eye. "But even back then I found reasons to smile, and I never let any of it get me down, not for long..."

He trailed off, but the kids knew not to interrupt. After a moment he started again, "Well, it all happened like this...