One of the great things about parents is how loud they cheer when they retire from coaching. Their children have graduated from college, stopped bumming money (at least not as much), gotten jobs and clothes with buttons and collars.
The Beacon’s editorial staff is comprised almost entirely of 20-somethings, an age where our parents are grudgingly forced to scream encouragement from the sidelines. And they can scream loud.
Staff writer Myers Reece’s mom arrived first, this past Friday, from Florida. She came by the office, asked for a Beacon promotional newspaper bag – a souvenir. She was our first subscriber and is mighty proud of her boy, our youngest staffer.
The next day, media director Lido Vizzutti’s mother stopped by 217 Main St. Visiting from Missoula, she looked through her son’s photos and he gave her a tour of the Beacon digs.
I swear this wasn’t planned. But just hours later my mother arrived from Spokane. She was in town to help me look for a house and, of course, offer motherly encouragement. Something every editor needs.
Art director Stephen Templeton’s father will arrive at the end of the month.
Finally, Tuesday night, senior writer Dan Testa’s (who at 28 is anything but senior) whole family arrived from New York. It’s their first trip to Montana, and their first opportunity to tell him 60-hour workweeks pay off eventually.
It’s more than just the visits.
Our dads serve as part-time copy editors for this Web site. They point out typos, pitch story ideas and scold us when we overuse adverbs. Our moms tell us we are better looking than the drawings that accompany this blog. It helps.
We appreciate them. It’s nice to have a fan club, even if its only members are family.