Guest column: The dad team helps out fathers - The Bulletin

The guest column centers on fatherhood and the search to be the dad the author never had. The writer recalls his father, who died when he was 18 months old, and the sense that his father was a ghost. He describes his grandfather Dean, a retired banker, who offered lessons on life from dirty limericks to riding a bike. When the author and his wife had a son, they named him Dean, hoping to carry forward that guidance. As he grew, the author felt insecure about not knowing how to do typical boyhood tasks, like fixing a car or pitching a baseball.

Determined to be a better father, he encouraged his son to try skating and later enrolled him in Little League. Although the boy hesitated, he pursued gentle guidance to teach resilience rather than pressure. A pivotal moment came when a former MLB pitcher opened a Field of Dreams–style ranch for private coaching near Bend. Dean loved baseball, and the author felt pride as his son lit up after practice. The piece argues that fatherhood is a team effort and that shared guidance helps both father and child.