genius part 1

My grandfather was a great musician, I suspect. He doesn't play a lick anymore. He got scared off by all the Jazz. I don't know this for sure but, like I said, I suspect. He loves to talk to me about music. And when he does his brows raise and his eyes smile. I think he misses the simple joy of playing. He tells me stories of playing piano in the navy until someone suggested, "take it, kenny!"
"Take what, where?"
And as it is with grandparents, I hear this story often. He didn't get it. Improv? He needed direction. Chords. Melody. Notes. But does that mean he wasn't a musician? Does that justify leaving music behind?
In his case, I'm not sure it mattered much. They say he's a genius. And so it began...