On a beautiful late June day, you said goodbye to the second school you’ve attended so far in your lifetime, graduating from fourth grade.
It was an emotional day for your Mom – and your grandparents – as we watched our first-born grandchild leave Woodman Park behind, opening the door to your third school, Dover Middle, in September. 
We’re proud of you Ben – you’re a conscientious, caring, smart, hard working student with lots of friends and a great sense of humor.
I couldn’t have been prouder… prouder of you.
You’ve participated in an after-school writing program this year, learning the finer points of this so-important craft. You imagined a clever set of characters called “The Wooflers”: three dogs who experience adventures together and talk – a lot – along the way.
Grammy and I attended the celebration of writing, along with your Mom. Various stories were scattered across eight tables in the cafeteria. Beside each was a sheet of paper for readers to provide feedback. You were embarassed – didn’t like your story, didn’t like your cover… you kept turning it upside down. I kept flipping it back up. You didn’t even want us to read it. Sometimes you’re very self-conscious Mr. Ben!
After an hour or so your writing teacher made an announcement. One of her students had been selected by a national kids online publication called “Amazing Kids” to be published in October. It was the first time any of her students had received this honor in all the years she had submitted stories from her young authors. She was very excited to name the winner:
BEN CLICKMAN!
You couldn’t believe it and were reluctant to go up and receive your certificate. Everyone clapped, your Mom cried and I took this photo:
You were the only student who met their stringent criteria – imaginative, good writing, positive story, no violence, etc. (Amazing Kids is run and edited by kids with help from adults). You thought the honor was only for your school, but I explained it was a national award and only a few kids in the U.S. are chosen. You didn’t say much; it was all beginning to sink in. You are not a boastful young man Ben, by any stretch!
This honor was near and dear to your Papa’s heart. I worked closely with your Mom and Uncle Tim when they were younger, teaching them how to write. For the past 40 years, I’ve written thousands of stories, articles, speeches, case studies, news releases, web sites and blogs. Today, I particularly enjoy writing seven blogs… one for each of my grandchildren. This blog is the 64th I’ve created for you in a year and a half. I’m not bragging, just illustrating how important writing has been to me during my lifetime. It’s been a source of tremendous personal fulfillment.
So against this backdrop, you can imagine my pride in you tonight… seeing your talent emerge, a talent that is increasingly rare in an age of social media shorthand, bad spelling and self-focused rambling. Seeing my oldest grandchild accomplish something few people ever achieve – getting published nationally – was a proud moment.
Keep reading and writing all the days of your life. And like your writing teacher Kate Johnston told you tonight: “Keep the Wooflers alive Ben!”
You had a big concert tonight at the Middle School - it was a combination band & chorus concert featuring the fourth and fifth grades. You did a great job playing on several songs. My favorite was "Power Rock" because it was based on Queen's "We will rock you," a popular, crowd pleasing song from the Seventies often played at sporting events. You & your band mates started off by stamping your feet to the beat - just like the hit. Must be cool playing an instrument, I never did that even though my Dad was a good musician . He could play the piano, accordion & guitar and loved jazz. I always remember him playing a funny song called 'She's too fat for me" on the accordion!