A few years ago, I decided to become a blogger. I didn’t know anything about blogging and some would say that I still don’t. My first objective for my blog was to promote myself as an actor and a playwright. Which is why I chose TheJasonGreene.com. But instead of writing about auditioning and the painful late nights of trying to formulate a play, I wrote about my kids and the pains and joys of fatherhood. I became a dad blogger. Which is why I changed my site to OneGoodDad.com.
When I jumped into the world of dad blogging, I had no idea there were so many of us. But after I arrived in Houston in 2013 to attend my first Dad 2.0, I discovered that I was not alone. I’m not always the most social person, so it was difficult for me to engage with other bloggers at first. I was terrible at selling myself as a playwright and I’m still quite horrible at it as a blogger. Usually, I stand next to somebody that is better at commanding attention, so as to make it look like I am part of a conversation, and hope they don’t actually want to include me in the conversation.
By luck, one of those instances of being in the right place at the right time, I stood with a group of guys at my first Dad 2.0 who were making dinner plans. Oren Miller was part of this group.
If you don’t know who Oren Miller is, then you’re probably not familiar with dad bloggers. He is the man behind bloggerfather.com and creator behind a Facebook page where all of us dad bloggers go to commiserate, ask advice, support, cry, promote, or talk about penises. He also just found out he has stage 4 lung cancer.
I had the pleasure of sitting next to Oren that night in Houston. While we ate, I questioned him about blogging and he told me about his new Facebook group and invited me to join. Joining that group was the best thing that has ever happened to my blog. I have received great advice, been given writing jobs, and more importantly, started real friendships. I am greatly indebted to Oren. Even though we only see each other once a year, dad bloggers are always connected because we interact so much on Oren’s brainchild group.
Dad bloggers are a special breed; they really care about one another. There are other blogging groups with close connections, but dad bloggers seem to take it to a whole new level. We lift one another up and we promote the heck out of each other. And Oren is a big reason why we do. Because he convinced us all to do so… and it worked. And it continues to work.
And so it was completely natural that dad bloggers rallied around Oren and started a fund for him and his family. The money will be used for bills, food, clothing, or whatever. But what I really hope the money is used for is a huge celebration for Oren and his family. That they have a night free of thinking about cancer and worries. That Oren gets to do what he has done for so long — hold his wife and kids and share with them how much he loves them. And if he writes about it, then we all will have been given another precious gift.
Please donate to Oren’s fund (please do) by visiting the Give Forward page that was set up for him. https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/ytv4/give-back-to-oren
To read Oren’s own thoughts on receiving the news that he has cancer, click here. http://www.bloggerfather.com/2014/06/cancer.html. Get your tissues handy.
If you don’t want to take my word for what a great guy Oren Miller is, then take these other Dad Blogger’s words:
The Purposeful Pappy – Leaving a Legacy
Dadscribe – Once More…For Oren
Frank’s Place – Give a little – it means a lot
Dadmissions – Dads I admire
Puzzling Posts – A bedtime story for adults: it’s easy to ask for help
Ay yo, Be a Father – Helping Others
Joshua Wilner – Help Inigo Montoya Defeat His Greatest Nemesis
The Jack B – Father’s Day, Lurkers, and Other Thins that Matter
At Home Dad Matters – Oren’s Corner: A Bittersweet Dedication
Dad Camp – These are the Dads I know #3: Meet Oren Miller, a Blogger and a Father
Big Cheese Dad – A Chance to Pay it Forward
Daddy Doctrines – Helping Oren: Break the Bystander Effect
Fit to be a Dad – When One of Our Own Needed Us, #Dads4Oren Came Running
Scotchfully Yours – We Are All The MIllers
Life in 140 – Why is Help So Hard to Ask For?
Raising Sienna – A Groundbreakering Dad Blogger Needs Our Help
Nerd Icognito – A Sad Day for a Great Man
DadNCharge – The Power of People: Lifting up the Millers
Stay At Home Punk – Sometimes, Even Superheroes Need Help
Life in the Fishbowl – My Father’s Day Wish
That Poore Baby – Are Parenting Blogs an Invasion of Privacy or a Helpful Tool?
Ihopeiwinatoaster – A Post for Oren Miller
The Daddy Files – Of Time, Cancer, and Snapping Turtles
To My Son Tommy – Dads Don’t Need Help, Right?
Another Day of Life – How someone I never met inspired me to do something
Dad and Buried – Help a Father Out