ATLANTIC, Iowa. (KMTV) — When Brad Rasmussen started playing on the swing set with his grandson, he started having fun with his imagination.
"I started rattling off a story, Jacob was swinging and we were having a good time," Rasmussen said. "I went and put it down on paper so I could remember to tell him."
When his family read the stories, they encouraged him to pursue his literary calling. He wrote two books calls Priceless Explorers and Sparkling Soul.
"Priceless Explorers is the trip to outer space, in here there are four of our grandchildren, there's Traiblazer, Hoo Hoo 1 and Hoo Hoo 2 and Tranquility," Rasmussen said.
In Priceless Explorers, they go to the moon, visit the Man on the Moon and then pick up some cheese. They later head to Mars and Pluto while Sparkling Soul is about conservation.
"I was big into the environment so this is all about how to save the environment," Rasmussen said.
When talking about his stories, Brad gets teary.
"The man in the moon is actually my father in law, I get sentimental about that because when we would go and visit, he would be the last person that you would see waving goodbye as you go home," Brad said.
He shared that his stories have deeper meaning beyond adventures in space.
"This day and age especially with the pandemic, people are looking to be visited, face-to-face, there's too much social media, there's not that close attachment," Rasmussen said.
Brad's books are a family affair: his wife and kids help him proofread and illustrate. With the books, his goals are to leave lessons for his grandkids.
"This is gonna be my vacancy that they can see, there's a legacy here they need to follow, being mindful of other people, taking care of the environment, enjoy putting things together, telling stories," Brad said.
For a link to his books, click here.