Her dad couldn't come to the game for Father's Day then Bob appeared

"And my mother was heroic and did so many things to make it feel like a normal childhood. But when your dad lives in a VA hospital, and you go visit him every Sunday and walk down the linoleum halls to a weird room that doesn't smell like home, and you see your dad sitting in there—it wasn't him."

"And all of a sudden everything was okay. He was serving up high fives and slinging cool slang words with the other dads. I remember feeling normal and accepted and one of the gang."

"He so beautifully played that part. When you're 12, you want to fit in. And it was such a generous act of Bob to realize that."

Olivia Joffrey's father suffered from early-onset Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and lived in a veterans hospital, making him unable to attend her sixth-grade Father's Day softball game. Dreading being the only child without a father present, Joffrey's mother arranged for Bob, her young co-worker, to attend in his place. Bob's enthusiastic participation—arriving in his distinctive brown leather bomber jacket, offering high fives, and engaging with other parents—transformed the experience for Joffrey. His presence made her feel normal, accepted, and included among her peers. Forty years later, Joffrey reflects on Bob's generous gesture as a pivotal moment of kindness that demonstrated understanding of a child's need for belonging during a vulnerable period.

Read at www.npr.org