By John Johnston
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Charlie Vohs' grandchildren, Ian, who is 2 (on his lap), and Logan Stumpf, 3, help him feel young. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

Everyone has a story worth telling. That's the theory, anyway. To test it, Tempo is throwing darts at the phone book. When a dart hits a name, a reporter dials the number and asks if someone in the home will be interviewed. Stories appear weekly.

The sun doesn't shine brighter and the grass doesn't grow greener at Charlie Vohs' place. It only seems that way.

"Life's always been good," says the West Chester Township man with the sunny disposition. The creases around his blue eyes form little furrows when he smiles, which is often. "Been lucky in a lot of ways."

For one, he's been married to the same woman for 34 years. He and wife Marjorie have three daughters, who are all grown up and married.

Speaking of growing up, 60-year-old Charlie says he refuses to do it. It's all about attitude, and his is aimed at staying active, trying new things, finding ways to have fun with family. And, of course, being Mr. Positive.

"That's my husband - upbeat, good guy," says Marjorie.

Good guys coach their daughters' softball, soccer and basketball teams, as Charlie did for a dozen years when daughters Tania, Tasha and Tara were growing up. He made sure all players rotated positions, nobody rode the bench, and everybody shared in victories and defeats.

He's a survivor

Then, when his kids were teens, he turned his attention to sailing, which he saw as a great family activity. And it was, although Charlie first had to survive a weeklong sailing course on Lake Erie. The first day out, thunder, lightning and 45-knot winds sent 10-foot waves crashing into the boat, which bobbed like a cork in a washing machine.

At 50, Charlie let Tara, his youngest daughter, teach him to snow ski. He survived that, too.

"I've always kind of had fun with life," Charlie says.

OK, but what about work? Work makes a lot of people miserable.

"The job is great," says Charlie, a technical service representative for American Packaging. "Different people. Different products and processes." He's in a bubble gum plant one week, a cereal or soap plant the next. He enjoys the variety.

Says Marjorie: "Charlie has one philosophy he's given to our kids, which I think has been a motivator for them: The harder you work, the luckier you get."

With Charlie's work comes frequent travel. Airports, delays - surely that sets him off.

"Delays don't bother me," Charlie says. "As long as they fix (the airplane) on the ground. Don't want 'em to fix it in the air."

It's not that Charlie Vohs never has a bad day. While raising his daughters, he made sure they knew that life isn't always fair. But that doesn't mean you sulk.

"You make a choice of how you want to feel, sometimes," Charlie says.

Kids keep him young

He's always looking for ways to put himself in a good frame of mind, for ways to feel young.

Luckily, two of those ways live just a few doors away. Their names are Logan and Ian Stumpf, ages 3 and 2, respectively. They're Charlie and Marjorie's grandchildren.

"The first thing he does when he comes home is he wants to see these little guys," Marjorie says. "They add so much to our life."

Grandpa Charlie has a garage full of toys for the boys. He takes them to baseball games and to the ice cream shop. He enjoys spending time with them in his garden.

As long as they're together, the 60-year-old doesn't have to grow up.

E-mail jjohnston@enquirer.com