The Dad Story Project

A story of daring reptilian adventure as our family's collective obsession with snakes, turtles, and their related ilk, lead to late nights on the lake, squealing tires, crates reinforced with steel, chewed golf clubs, and nearly-amputated toes. It's all just good family fun and it builds a kind of redneck character that will last a lifetime...although we're not quite sure that's a good thing.

On two otherwise ordinary rainy days nearly five decades apart, a father and son travel up a cold northern lake in an old boat. On the first trip, the man is strong and determined while his boy is small and chilled and a bit scared. On the second trip, the roles are reversed. Everything about the two days is the same, except for the inevitable passing of time. This is a poignant and quiet story, which shows how the simplest moments in life, so easily and so often brushed aside, can yet b...

This is a cautionary tale about two young boys who decide to take the technology of the day and modify it in order to do something utterly stupid. In fact, the activities in this story were so ill-conceived and idiotic that no disclaimer is warranted. Therefore, don't try this at home. Yet, as it turns out even mistakes can serve as life lessons that often prove invaluable as we navigate adulthood. I said "often" because unfortunately, it seems the two main characters may not have gotten the ...

An innocent foray into raising chickens leads our family down a sinister path as our rooster slowly goes insane. Danger lurks around every corner until we no longer bear it and drastic measures must be taken. And while things end with a bang (several, bangs, actually), the terrible conclusion isn't what you might expect. The takeaway? If you insist on having a rooster, be prepared for carnage (and carry a busted canoe paddle). Music: Purple PlanetShow NotesThe Shooting of Rusty, 1, 2, 3© 2021...

Many years ago on a beautiful spring day, I stopped on my way home from work to take a walk and shrug off the worries of the moment. I found myself in the company of a man I never met, and with no words spoken between us, he forever changed the way I would look at my own life.

A middle-aged man gets a birthday phone call from his father, and the two of them are transported back in time to relive a precious family tradition.Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

To embrace another person is one of the things that defines our humanity and connects us to each other, both literally and emotionally. And a world full of full-contact hugs would be a wonderful place (as long as respect and social context boundaries were honored, of course). In this very short episode, I describe our family heritage of serial hugging that we are passing down from generation to generation.

A Christmas parable of sorts, this is the true story of a few frustrating minutes on a cold December day in Maine as a man stares out the window of an old farmhouse and worries about the apparent contradictions of the season. But as he frets over the world's fixation with material gain, a pickup truck pulls into the driveway and he realizes once more what is really valuable in his life.

At the edge of a river deep in the forest, a father and son find the past and the present fused together for a few precious moments. A poignant story of a canoe trip, lost trains, blackberry brambles, a distant memory, and the ever-onward march of time.

This is the tender story of a little girl and her grandfather and how a few minutes on a summer day changed their lives forever. It's a reminder for us all to be on the alert for those simple everyday moments when a bit of encouragement and cheer can be the most precious gift in the world.Background Music: https://www.purple-planet.com