Grampa Simpson lives at the Springfield Retirement Castle, whose slogan is, 'Where the elderly can hide from the inevitable.'
He is a fountain of wisdom, impossible to shut off, whose babble eventually lulls people into a deep rage.
Grampa not only lives in the past, he practically invented it. His memory is vivid and prodigious. While he may forget the names of his family or to take his medication, he often remembers personally participating in historical events before he was born, and others that may never have occurred.
Homer and Grampa love each other deeply. So deeply that you would never know it. So very deeply, in fact, that they rarely know it, either. They choose to express their affection for each other with contempt or simple indifference.
The family's involvement with Grampa is, at the best of times, an afterthought. When Grampa shows up at the house unexpectedly, Homer will often shut the blinds or hide, pretending no one is at home. Bart, however, loves it when Grampa babysits, since Grampa is much too feeble to prevent Bart's mischief.
Though Grampa's body is not as youthful as is once was, his romantic behavior is as reckless, ardent, and vibrant as ever. And just as successful, usually ending in disappointment and heartbreak. He once wore a fifteen pound beard of bees to win the love of a 120- year-old woman, to no avail.
Other leisure pursuits include writing letters of complaint to just about anyone, and arguing with his Retirement Castle friend Jasper about the proper consistency of tapioca.
