Story Submitted by Thomas J. Bostock

IS IT SUPPOSED TO BE PINK AND GOOEY AND SMELL SO BAD?

By seventy-five, I should probably be jaded. I’ve been a father, grandfather several times, and now a great grandfather. It’s official. I even have a shirt for it! Surprisingly, the wonder never dies as the cycle of life repeats itself, time after time. I see my two daughters with grown children of their own but still remember bouncing them and their children on my knee. If I tried it now, I probably wouldn’t be able to walk for a week! That’s the problem with us elder citizens, no matter how old and independent that they become, they will always be children in our eyes. I used to have an expression that I know my kids will remember: It’s not when your get up and go is gone, its where it’s been that counts. All I need to do is look at my family and I know where it went. Being a father is more than just giving in to a biological urge. It’s all those little things that accumulate over the years. It’s helping change diapers, bouncing a colicky baby on your chest until she falls asleep, kissing boo-boos, and eating biscuits that were made for you with baking powder substituted for baking soda making them the equivalent of hockey pucks…and liking them. It’s the late nights helping finish up last-minute assignments where they had two weeks to complete and then adding fluff when there weren’t the right number of words, and going to school to confront teachers who were so full of themselves that they couldn’t see that they were damaging your child. It is teaching your child to drive and not losing your mind when they hit the gas instead of the brake, almost running into your workplace. It’s comforting the heartaches and heartbreaks, knowing that there are many more to come and encouraging them to let their grasp outstretch their reach so that they are never bored and always challenged. It’s picking them up when they fall, knowing that they will fall again. It’s respecting their choices in life for careers and mates. It’s hoping that you taught the right values without being overly strict or restrictive and respecting their opinions and being glad that they are willing to think for themselves, not accepting everything at face value but questioning when things are not what they seem. It is a million smiles, tears, and kisses, in my case, Eskimo kisses (nose rubs). It is joys and laughter tempered with pain and sorrow. It is watching them as they learned to roll over, then pull themselves up in their cribs, and then teeter and crawl. The wobbly walk was a rite of passage. I see that in the cell phone videos that I receive from my granddaughter of my great-grandson. Suddenly, there was kindergarten and then grade school with indistinguishable animals that they drew for you. “Look, daddy, I made you a monkey.” You stared at the crooked lines and knew that if there wasn’t the likeness of a monkey, it should have been there; it was up to you to confirm it. Then middle school and high school with new relationships, hurts and rewards, being picked on and bullied. With the graduations came the college years and more boyfriends, advice, and relationships. With so many memories, it is hard to point to just a few things that represent fatherhood. In their own way, they all do. It was “the best of times, it was the worst of times and I wouldn’t have traded it for all the money in the world. It is “I love you to the moon and back,” wrapped up in my family.

Story Submitted by Miles Wesley Dittmar

At a young age I was fueled with entrepreneurship. Lemonade stands, knitting beanies and scarves, selling skateboards, and homemade duct-taped wallets led to my proudest accomplishment yet. My names Miles Dittmar, I’m 21 years old and I am the CEO and owner of, “Beaten Path Company”. To keep it simple, Beaten Path is not just a clothing brand, it’s a lifestyle. Mixing the niche based outdoor passions, such as, snowboarding, hiking, surfing rock-climbing and so on. Your passion, your path. It wasn’t till the start of 2020 that I created my campaign program called, “Be The Change”. Be The Change is any easy way for the community to give back. When you buy a “Be The Change” t-shirt, not only do you get a high quality tee, but 100% of the profits are being sent to a new organization every month. In January, I was so grateful to be able to send over $1,700 to the Australian Red Cross to help with the devastating wildfires going on in Australia. February was The Dolphin Project, to help protect dolphins worldwide, and end dolphin exploitation and slaughter. In March I decided it was only necessary to give to an organization helping with COVID-19 and that organization is called, “Direct Relief”. Their mission is to speed the process of production in medical supplies during the pandemic, while my mission is to spread awareness about my campaign. I later decided that it was only necessary to extend my COVID-19 campaign throughout the months of April and May. My biggest question with the campaign has been, “Why don’t you just tell people to donate the full $20 to the organization instead of buying a t-shirt from your company?” I have nothing against people doing that vs purchasing a t-shirt from me. However, by buying the shirt it is a quick and easy way to spread the word amongst others that are curious when the read the “Be The Change” designs out in public and on social media. It’s so important to me that I do whatever it takes to bring communities together and make an eco-conscious mark on Planet Earth. Not only a better planet for our children, but a better planet for our children’s children and so on. Not By Default – Beaten Path Company