 To some, Veterans Day is just another day or for others it serves as the start of a long weekend.
I served eight years in the United States Coast Guard as a Boatswains Mate. My primary roles were law enforcement, search and rescue and navigation. I am damn proud to be a veteran and to have served this country, but in the company of other veterans I don’t speak up much. I served during the War on Terror, but never went overseas. My biggest accomplishment was volunteering to go down right after Hurricane Katrina for urban search and rescue and recovery ops. When I see Vietnam vets or WWII heroes, I shrink in their presence as I think about what they saw and went up against. Two weeks ago, my little neighbor asked if she could take a photo with me in uniform for her class. She beautifully sang the Coast Guard Marching Song she learned in choir and was going to perform during a Veterans Day concert. Growing up I remember doing interviews with my grandpa who was a sniper in WWII. I grew close with a local legend who served heroically and then proudly served his community as a businessman and longest serving American Legion Commander, until my Dad took that position even longer. Now, I’m “the veteran” I guess. The one that the neighbors come to interview and that’s hard to swallow. I was 17 years old when I signed the documents at my dinner table surrounded by my mom, dad and recruiter. I knew I wanted to follow in my dad’s (brother's, grandpa's and uncle's) footsteps. I loved hearing stories, going to the Cleveland Air Show everywhere or being part of a small team that raised and lowered the American flag every day at school. September 11, 2001 solidified in my heart that upon graduation I would enlist. I had my reasons at 17 years old. It wasn't until this picture was taken, and I saw how tightly my son held on to me that I realized, THIS IS WHY I SERVED. So that one day my son (and soon our daughter) can grow up in an America, that despite its faults, provides freedom of speech and freedom to seek change. An America that in my heart of hearts stands to serve as a beacon of hope for so many around the world. Although, I’ve traded in my boots for dress shoes and gun belt for a backpack full to snacks and wipes, I continue to fight that fight for them, but in a different way. I work as a servant leader serving the pleasure of my community. I’m positioned to help ensure everyone is heard and progress is made. I choose to step foot on the daily battlefield of helping a toddler grow into a man of high character and serve deep in the trenches of temper tantrums just to see him evolve. I didn’t know it that night at my dinner table, but I chose to serve so that my future self could raise a family in a country that allows opportunity in some way or another for all. Where I could raise my children who our family chooses and that is worth fighting for. Happy Veterans Day, and may we never forget that there are always men and women somewhere, home and abroad, away from their family and friends serving valiantly for you, too. -Matt Lofy, The Dadass
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 Men make excuses for not putting their wellbeing at the top of the to-do list. We hold things in and rarely have deep conversations with other men. Honestly, it takes balls for men to connect in meaningful ways with other men when it comes to things impacting our lives. That’s part of the reason we created The Dadass Podcast and how CBUS Dads started. It's also why on Thursday, November 9 we are hosting dadX: Mansplaining Men’s Health. The event will be from 7-9 p.m., and it's worth noting THIS. IS. A. FREE. EVENT. As you can guess from the name, the name is a subtle nod to hosting a TEDx style event (but don’t tell Ted) with five powerful, short talks from dynamic speakers on a range of relevant topics revolving around men’s health. Thanks too to an epic host location in Leisure Club, this is a casual platform for men to kickstart meaningful conversations. Here’s what ya need to know: First, you don’t have to be a dad. This event is for men of all ages, stages in life and who just want to do something other than grow epic facial hair this November Second, our lineup is stacked. It’s like we had all first-round picks for some sort of fantasy football meets speaker wish list draft. Our speakers include:
Third, we’re hosting this at the legendary Leisure Club, a nostalgically-inspired social membership club, created as an alternative place for folks to relax and unwind. Membership at Leisure Club includes reservation access to the space with BYOB or self-serve options including house coffee and Garage Beer. Fourth, we’re going to try and take this event and turn it into a special Dadass Podcast episode for us to listen to again and again on our journey to be healthier men. We’re going to record the talks. Lastly, did I mention this is free to attend? So cost isn’t a barrier for not engaging in this conversation. -Matt Lofy, The Dadass  During the Fourth of July weekend, I took my three kids plus a friend to Hocking Hills for a day trip. We packed water bottles, lunches and snacks and made the trek down US 33. We started our loop at Cedar Falls. A handful of other visitors with expensive-looking cameras were photographing the waterfalls, so we had to navigate this respectively. Mid-summer the flow was definitely lighter, and the pool beneath was fairly shallow, so we waded through the water. The kids were psyched to spot a number of turtles.   Next on our journey was Ash Cave, the largest recess cave east of the Mississippi. It sports a horseshoe-shaped rim that is wide open with a runoff waterfall trickling down in the center. We took advantage of this feature by dunking our heads underneath to cool down.  While the first two destinations required about a mile hike in and another mile back to the car, our final stop involved a bit more steps. Old Man’s Cave consists of several falls and gorges, connected by hiking trails. After fueling up from our packed lunch, we were ready for a prolonged traverse. The kids agreed this was their favorite, as Old Man’s Cave offers unique features such as trails through tunnels and rock bridges. We posted up at the Lower Falls for a rest and additional wading.  Swimming is prohibited at all of our destinations, but I had our crew dress in their bathing suits under their hiking clothes knowing that they will inevitably get wet. I packed their water shoes in my pack, so they could change to proper footwear when the terrain called for it. We were fortunate to be in this area when a rainstorm rolled in. We were able to get back to the Hocking Hills State Park Visitors Center just in time to wait out the heavy precipitation. You can’t bring enough towels on a trip such as this, and the rain exacerbated this notion.  I’ve been visiting Hocking Hills my entire life, but I’m hardly an expert on the region. One thing for sure: I’ve found it’s busy no matter the time of year, so expect a crowd whenever you go. My crew didn’t mind, as the excitement was high throughout our adventure. We are already planning a return voyage this fall or winter. We just scraped the surface with our day trip, so I’m curious what other landmarks others recommend for kids?
-Steve Michalovich, Regular Contributor and founder of CBUS Dads  Since it's start in 2016, CBUS Dads has intended to be a community of central Ohio area dads balancing an active lifestyle with being an involved parent. We may live downtown, in the suburbs or somewhere between, but our common thread is that we experience the community we love with our families.
We are featuring some of the awesome dads we know to share their stories of parenting. Next up is a good friend to The Dadass Podcast, Parker Huston! What do you do for a living? I own a small pediatric psychology practice serving kids and families in central Ohio. What part of town do you live in? Wonderful Westerville What is your favorite part about being a dad? Watching the kids grow and achieve things. Learning about their interests and abilities and helping them explore new things. What is your favorite activity to do with your kids that’s unique to Columbus? We love to attend Columbus sports together, especially Crew games and Blue Jackets! Where is your favorite place to grab a bite to eat with your family? The kids will pick Thai Grille in Uptown Westerville nine out of ten times. The food is amazing, and we can ride our bikes there if the weather is cooperating! What are you most looking forward to in the future as a dad? Every year I look back and realize how much they have learned and changed. I'm excited to see what they accomplish as young adults and to support them along the way! Sum up your life as a dad and the way you live it in six or less words. Let them try everything! Tell us a dad joke! My boss asked me why I only get sick on work days. I told her it must be my weekend immune system.  Two years ago, Steve and Matt tag teamed sharing their favorite Columbus area breweries that are also family friendly. Given it's been two years, and beer is very synonymous with our platform, we brewed an updated list for summer 2023. Let us know what you think!
From Matt: My wife and I have a three-and-a-half-year-old son and one on the way. So, I’m looking for places that are toddler approved and it’s not frowned upon if he’s a wild man. I’m also looking for a spot to take a future little one, which means comfortable for my wife and easy parking options too. First off, I’d be a bad Dadvocate if I didn’t give a special shout out to Taft’s Brewporium Columbus and Honest Friend Brewing for adding changing stations to your men’s and gender-neutral restrooms in part with our Changing Station Accessibility Grant with Columbus City Council. Edison Brewing Company (Gahanna) continues to be our son’s overall favorite place to go to in Columbus because of the airplanes. I love their traditional European style beers, and my wife loves their signature cocktails, but it’s all about the planes landing at John Glenn. The brewery has a huge outdoor area with an impressive stage. Most notably, it sits directly between both runways, which allows for optimal airplane watching when playing games that they offer. Coffee, beer and proximity to Columbus’ best Metro Park, Highbanks (IMO), make Olentangy River Brewing (Lewis Center) a clear contender. I have survived both morning hikes with dad friends and kids that needed a dose of caffeine afterwards and sizzling summer day hikes that called for a Belgian Aloha. This is a great spot with a lot to do around it. Full disclosure, I am the Executive Director of the Worthington Area Chamber and have to give a nod to one of our businesses. Outside of my bias, there is a great collection of light and full-bodied ales at Zaftig Brewing Co. (Worthington), complimented with great bourbon cocktails and wine. What makes this special for families is the friendly, local bar vibe, well respected 90’s alt rock playlist and a fantastic picnic table set up easy for games, Matchbox car races and easy clean up with spills. Plus, if the little ones are acting out, try the Big Barley Wine. It is the perfect medicine for that. Although Fattey Beer Co. (Westerville) is not a brewery, it holds its own to be on this list. Visit Uptown, head to a public park or Westerville Library across the street or just bring in your own food from the surrounding restaurants. This is in an ideal location (with parking) and the vibe is fun and loud, so kids can be themselves. Our son’s is especially grateful that they offer juice with PJ Masks and Paw Patrol characters as the straw. They offer beers on tap, hundreds by styles in marked fridges, wines, ciders, NAs, and beers to go. From Steve: I basically echo everything Matt listed above. I couldn't agree with his sentiments, and I've had similar experiences at each location. One brewery we have yet to shoutout in this series is Land Grant (Franklinton). We've been taking our kids there for years, and as I shared in March, the winter season, much like every season, offers something unique to do with your family. This time of year though, the patio is bustling. Live music is frequent, and it's a great destination to watch soccer matches. Before you know it, football season will be upon us, so don't rule it out for Buckeye Saturdays. This is slightly off topic, given they are a distillery, but both High Bank locations are tremendous for children, especially the Grandview spot with it's games. I'm a big fan of their whiskey and of theirs in general, as they are friends to the podcast, but their food is unique and as good as anything you can find in central Ohio.  I lost my job in mid-March and have been unemployed ever since. I left an employer of nearly four years at the end of 2022 to work for a technology startup at the start of 2023. Long story short, but things went south quickly, and the company was acquired, leaving most of the staff without jobs. My kids, with their childhood rationale, always had a lot of affinity for my former company. It’s not hard to see why from where they sat: huge brand presence, brick and mortar locations all across America and our family’s personal bank. Not to mention, I was generally happy, accomplished and proud to work there during my tenure, and I’m sure they sensed that. Conversely, given the way things turned out with the latter employer, they hate that company. Coincidentally, the company name is also a five-letter word that starts with C and is also a man’s name. We’ve explained the circumstances of my layoff, and they are quick to in turn explain the situation to friends and family when the conversation arises. This conversation always concludes with them adding, “C**** sucks.” We usually don’t condone this kind of language, but we’ve been letting it pass given the hardship. While unemployment is not ideal, I did go into it with the mindset that in addition to job seeking, I’ll be as involved as I can with my kids during this time. This spring saw a lot of activities return to the elementary school that otherwise wouldn’t have happened the last couple years due to the pandemic. I volunteered as much as possible and was present at the school to help and support however I could. It’s been rewarding, fun and unique, and I’m thankful for the opportunity. I think my kids have been thankful to have me around too. I even relived my youth and participated in the end-of-year neighborhood shaving cream fight!  I’m sure most kids have an interest in what their parents do for a living. The lens they see it through is where it likely gets comical. When my oldest daughter filled out a Father’s Day form in preschool years ago, she described my job as “keeping the kids safe.” Since that time, this phrase has stuck within our family. Any time I request they do something they don’t understand is for their own good, or if they ask me for my advice, this mantra will typically come up. Examples include:
I frequently validate my answers with a simple “what’s my job?” to which their reflex reaction is a “to keep the kids safe.” The last few months though, the joke they tell me when I ask this has been that I don’t have a job now. This has been stated out of love, as my children have become increasingly interested in the overall process of finding a new job, e.g., interviewing, offers, etc. While we certainly haven’t explained to them the financial implications of my unemployment, they’ve been invested and supportive to the extent they can understand. Careers are important, and I’ve always taken mine seriously. Losing a job is a tragedy that I don’t wish on anyone. These last three months have been really hard but also unique and positive in some ways. We as parents are our kids’ grandest advocates. Dads are the ultimate hype men. But it’s my kids who are my biggest, most unexpected cheerleaders right now, pulling for me to navigate out of this unfortunate situation. -Steve Michalovich, regular contributor, founded CBUS Dads in 2016 while on paternity leave with his middle child. He is an active parent and digital product manager by day.  Since it's start in 2016, CBUS Dads has intended to be a community of central Ohio area dads balancing an active lifestyle with being an involved parent. We may live downtown, in the suburbs or somewhere between, but our common thread is that we experience the community we love with our families.
We are going to start featuring some of the awesome dads we know to share their stories of parenting. There was no one more perfect to start with than The Dadass himself, Matt Lofy. By day, he is the executive director of the Worthington Area Chamber. Any other time if he's not parenting, he's focused on The Dadass Podcast. You can learn a little bit more about Matt below: What part of town do you live in? Westerville What is your favorite part about being a dad? I love being able to come home and feel like the most important person in the world when our son runs up and hugs me as if he hasn't seen me in a decade. What is your favorite activity to do with your kids that’s unique to Columbus? I love to go hiking in along many of Columbus' many Metro Park trails. Where is your favorite place to grab a bite to eat with your family? BrewDog New Albany - our son loves the huge pretzel. What are you most looking forward to in the future as a dad? I'm looking forward to each new phase of his life to see him learn and grow into his own. Sum up your life as a dad and the way you live it in six or less words. Who truly runs this shit show? Tell us a dad joke! What concert only costs 45 cents? 50 Cent featuring Nickleback. It’s June. That means summer vacations begin, festivals kickoff, Pride and Juneteenth are around the corner, and it seems like everyone is hosting everything during your weekends off. Then in the middle of it we have Father’s Day. We understand that Father’s Day is only one day out of this jam-packed month, but we’d miss an excellent opportunity not to celebrate it to the fullest. Here’s what’s in store:
Father’s Day Gift Box Giveaway Now thru June 11, The Dadass Podcast is partnering with Cameron Mitchell to giveaway one deluxe gift box. All you have to do is like the Instagram post about the giveaway and follow Cameron Mitchell on Instagram to be entered to win. Extra entry if you follow The Dadass Podcast as well. The box (valued at $74.99) includes:
This gift box and another one featuring the same items, along with a Manhattan cocktail kit (ingredients and instructions for two cocktails included), are available for purchase at either The Barn or The Avenue. Changing Station Pick Up – June 14 We’re at the final leg of our partnership with Columbus City Council for the Changing Table Accessibility Grant as part of our Dadvocate for Change campaign. 130 changing stations will be installed into small businesses throughout Columbus and in Parks & Rec. restrooms that do not have them. On this day from 1-6 p.m. the businesses will be picking up their changing stations. We'll also be recording a live episode during that time with businesses, councilmen and whoever stops by. Father’s Eve – June 17 Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 17 from 7-9 p.m. We will be hosting Father's Eve at Echo Spirits Distilling Co. At this event we will host a mini diaper drive, share our final numbers from our partnership with Columbus City Council and simply celebrate fathers, papas, uncles, and parents. Weekly Podcast Releases As always, we have special episodes dropping each week that will leave you feeling inspired and ready to step up your dad game. Upcoming we are featuring some pretty cool guests, including the host of the number one fatherhood podcast in the world, The Dad Edge and the founder of the Dad Caucus in Congress. -Matt Lofy, The Dadass As you may know by now, we have been pursuing our Dadvocate for Change campaign for over a year now. The culmination of our most recent efforts partnering alongside four dads who happen to sit on Columbus City Council will wrap up on June 14, as 130+ changing tables will be distributed to area businesses or installed into Columbus Parks & Recreation restrooms.
With the support of Council President Shannon Hardin, Council Pro Temp Rob Dorans and Councilmembers Nick Bankston and Emmanual Remy, area small businesses could submit for changing stations to be put into their public facing men’s and gender-neutral restrooms. This was known as the Changing Station Accessibility Grant that was available to Columbus-based businesses that had 50 employees or less and didn’t have a changing station in either restroom. Nearly 50 businesses, requesting roughly 70 changing stations, took advantage of this grant. The hope is to have this continue annually to ensure easier access for all to change children in public. It's exciting to think about how many area places will now be accessible for all to have clean, safe ways to change their children in public. This is a wonderful showing of what the public and private sectors can do to try and move the needle even in small ways that add up to a bigger difference. Through the efforts of The Dadass Podcast and CBUS Dads, the Dadvocate for Change campaign has opened doors and opportunities we have not thought possible just a year ago:
Lots to celebrate as we near Father's Day, but there's still more work to do! stay tuned for what's ahead! -Matt Lofy, The Dadass I’ve been thinking a lot about storytelling lately. It’s relevant to everyone. As human beings we crave stories, and our brains are naturally wired to consume information in this format.
With this top of mind, I’ve been reflecting on my family’s last weekend. On paper, it wasn’t anything overly extraordinary: a cold weekend in March, Friday dinner out, Lego building, a hockey game, and an afternoon at the bar. But a double click into each event tells a short story of actually an extraordinary (at least to me) memory or lesson for my kids.
-Steven Michalovich, Regular Contributor |
AboutCBUS Dads is a community of central Ohio area dads balancing an active lifestyle with being an involved parent. A Saturday for us may involve enjoying morning t-ball, lunch at a new local spot and an evening at a summer festival with our families. We may live downtown, in the suburbs or somewhere between, but our common thread is that we continue to experience the community we love - now as parents. Archives
July 2024
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