A Site For His Dad

This post is first in a small series of stories about WordPress. Some are related to HeroPress, some not. This one is not.

Somewhere around 2017 I went to a WordCamp in Florida. It was probably Miami. I was a volunteer, and one of the things they asked me to do was be a room monitor at Kids Camp. Just wander around and answer questions.

The kids were broken up into groups of three. There was one group of three boys, probably 7-9 years old. Two of the boys had long ago given up on computers and were tearing around the room having.a wonderful time as boys that age are wont to do.

But one boy was very intent on his computer. I went over and asked if he needed any help. He looked up at me and said “Well, I have WooCommerce all set up. and my product configured properly. Can you show me how to connect it to Stripe?”

I was surprised to see the progress he made. I told him that Stripe was something that involved banking information, and he’d probably need his parents involved. His face fell and he sat wordlessly staring at his hands in his lap. I asked if that was a problem.

That’s when he said “I made this site as a surprise for my Dad. He lost his job last year, but he has an invention that he made, and he’s been trying to get it produced so he can support the family with it. I wanted to make an online store for him so that maybe he wouldn’t cry every night after putting me to bed”.

I nearly burst into tears right there, and I can’t tell this story in person.

I remember giving him some advice, but then the day ended, and I never saw him again. But that story will stick with me forever.