Author Archives: Becky

Dad Short Shorts Gone Viral Update

Speaking? A Book? What? Me? Us? Oh My!

Speaking? A Book? What? Me? Us? Oh My!

 

Little did I know that when Scott put on those tiny short shorts that our lives were about to be turned upside down.

When I first encouraged my husband Scott to write his story,”The REAL Story Behind The Short Shorts” he laughed and said;  “Who’s going to read your blog,  FOUR people?” Well sweetie, hate to break it to you, but slightly more than four people read it! 🙂

I was certain that there were a lot of people as surprised as I was when I initially saw him sporting those shorts that would want to hear what the dad behind the “nice legs” had to say about his little night-out-on-the-town ….and WHY? It was 11:30 pm when I hit the “Publish” button, tweeted the link, posted on Facebook and then went to bed. The rest is history!

Only a few days later we were hearing it was top news in the DailyMail UK, I wasn’t sure what that meant. Then I get a call from the DailyMail NY asking permission to use the picture with a link to my blog.

I appreciate that so many outlets have emailed or called to ask permission to post the picture and tell the story. The ones that have not asked permission seem to be the ones that twist the story to their own agenda, but I totally get that there is opposition in all things, so why would I expect any different?

Scott’s very first interview was with a local news station KSL Browser 5.0. It was the same day that the local Deseret News ran an article. I thought “Okay it’s staying local…that’s good!” I watched the analytics on my blog go up ad up. I said;

“Myley, this could actually go viral. It’s taken on a life of it’s own, and there is not much we can do about it now. Are you okay with this?” Her answer, “Yea, why wouldn’t I be? I’m fine. It’s dad that should be embarrassed.”

After that, the days seem to blend together. The phone ringing became the norm; “Hello this is CNN, The TODAY SHOW, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, INSIDE EDITION, FOX News, FOX AND FRIENDS, FOX 13, HLN Showbiz Tonight, HALLMARK, The HUFFINGTON POST, RACHEL RAY, ELLEN, STEVE HARVEY”, not to mention all the radio and TV shows who did not call for an interview, but talked about it and showed the picture; The View, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon the list goes on and on. We tried to accommodate all who called requesting an interview, but because some wanted exclusivity not all requests were able to be met.

On Thursday September 12th, three film crews came to our home to interview Scott and Myley; INSIDE EDITION, GOOD MORNING AMERICA and The TODAY SHOW.  GMA also put me under the spotlight to ask a few questions. It was 10:30pm when the last crew left our home. They were aired the following day on Friday the 13th, later that night friends began texting that Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon had shown the picture and talked about Scott sporting his daisy duke shorts to teach a valuable lesson to his daughter in their monologue. Seriously? This whole thing is craZy. Still trying to wrap my brain around it.

What made this funny, out-of-the-box idea, which was meant only to teach a valuable lesson about modesty to our daughter, go viral? I’m guessing initially it was the funny picture of the dad with the nice legs wearing a Best.Dad.Ever t-shirt. THEN it became the story behind the picture, a story of a dad who loves and cares about his daughter enough to make a fool of himself in hopes to teach her the value of modesty in a fun, creative sort of way.

Chelle Golland PhD said on GOOD MORNING AMERICA;

“What this father did was an excellent way to get this message across. It was creative, it was funny, it engaged the family, it engaged the teenager.”

Most of the comments and messages received have been very positive. Only a handful of readers have been negative. Several have asked “How does Myley feel about all this?”

On National TV, Myley said; “I mostly learned the lesson of how much my dad loves me.”

Myley is at the end of her teen years, she is 19. I’m a mom and most likely when she is my age, 50, I will still be her mother who gives her parenting advice as my 82 year old mother still does to me. Myley has completed a year of college and is now working to save money to continue her schooling next fall. She is a lovely young lady with a giant heart who’s goal is to be a social worker to serve and make a difference in this world.

Has she changed her wardrobe? Not drastically. Myley said; “It got the point across. Yes!”

We know all the hype about the picture will die down, but the message behind the short-shorts we hope will carry on for years to come.

 

The REAL Story Behind The Short-Shorts!

This is the REAL story behind the short-shorts! By Scott Mackintosh.

I did something spontaneous a week ago today. I am shocked how fast things can spread via social media. And even more surprised how fast the story has changed in just ONE week. Within 24 hours of my wife and children posting THIS photo ….Imagewe were being told it had gone viral. My kids were using terms an old dad like me is not familiar with, such as; 70,000 reposts on tumblr, favorited on twitter, re-tweated, shared etc… Friends were reporting they were seeing it posted on Buzzfeed, Redneck sites and other random sites, most have the story a bit twisted, so to set the record straight…..

This is the REAL story behind the short-shorts!

I know the world has varying degrees of what is modest and what is not when it comes to clothing.  In our family we have pretty definite modesty guidelines; No midriffs or low-cut shirts, no short-shorts, short skirts and we even go as far as saying no sleeveless shirts unless playing sports or on the beach. Having raised four daughters and three sons, I’m a bit protective. Some may call me old fashion, but I call it “A Dad who loves his daughters” (and sons too) I know some of you may be rolling your eyes and that’s okay, my daughter does it all the time.

I’m a firm believer that the way we dress sends messages about us, and it influences the way we and others act. (okay okay – I’m the first to admit I look like a redneck and I may say “crick” instead of “creek”) But that’s beside the point. My teenage daughter day after day continues to wear clothing that I, as her father, feel is inappropriate and immodest. Her mother and I feel the same about the importance of dressing modest. With that said, let’s move onto the night of the happening …….

In an effort to try to spend time with just the family we reserve our Monday evenings for just that. On this particular Monday, we decided to go out to eat (something we had not done in a very long time) and made plans for after dinner to use our pass-of-all passes to go miniature golfing at Trafalga, a nearby “fun center”.  I heard my wife ask our daughter if she would please change into some longer shorts before leaving. She said “NO!”  Instead of turning her response and disrespectful attitude into a major battle, I decided to make a small statement on how her short-shorts maybe aren’t as “cute” as she thinks!

I ran into my bedroom as the family was loading into the car. I grabbed some scissors and cut some old worn out pants into a set of short-shorts with the ends of the pockets hanging out the bottom. There was only about an inch of material below the crotch of the shorts. To add frosting to the cake, I looked down and noticed a shirt that my older daughter had given me for Father’s Day. At the time I thought “where the heck would I ever wear this?” Wow! I just found the perfect moment!  I was a bit worried about going through with this, but felt that it was “OKAY” to make this statement in the privacy of our own home. I was certain that when my daughter saw me, that would be as far as it would have to go to make the point.

As I walked out to the car I could see my daughter and my son in the back seat with their heads down focused on their phones…needless to say they didn’t even notice. I stood by the open driver’s side door for a minute and even spoke to them, but their faces stayed focused on their phones, they didn’t even glance up. They had no clue of how I was dressed. I then walked about 50 feet in front of the car to meet my wife as she was walking back from feeding our animals. Why was my wife feeding the animals when our kids that should be doing it? It was her plan to give me time to walk around to let my daughter notice me, and we would THEN both go into the house to change and be on our way.  THAT was what we THOUGHT was going to happen!

My wife said, “What did they think?” I told her that they hadn’t even noticed, but I was certain they had by now. As I returned to the car, it was evident that their faces were still glued to their phones and had no idea of the spectacle that stood before them. Well, I had a decision to make. This little plotted scheme did not get noticed, therefore my thinking that this would end at home, quickly changed to… “I guess we’re taking it to the road now.”

As we were driving and nearly to the Hibachi House restaurant, I heard a camera sound. I looked to see what had just happened at the same time that my wife was being addressed by my children saying; “Why are you taking a picture of Dad?” Immediately my son said “Oh my gosh, look at dad!” My daughter who was in the back seat was unable to see what the fuss was all about UNTIL we arrived at the restaurant and I stepped out of the car.

My daughter gave me a disgusted look and said, “Why are you dressed like that?”  I replied,  “Apparently short-shorts are pretty darn cute, so let’s go.”  She quickly added in a semi-horrified voice, “Oh, I don’t care, it’s you that’s going to be embarrassed.”

As we entered the restaurant we were greeted by many funny looking stares from a slightly small crowd. “Wow, at least it is a small group that I am making a fool of myself in front of” I thought. Then realized we knew two of the people. They laughed and said they couldn’t wait to tell our son-in-law what they had just seen. I gave a quick explanation. They laughed. My son, daughter and wife took a couple of pictures and posted them to social media. We ate dinner and it wasn’t a big deal.

My daughter didn’t seem to care however like I had hoped she would, so the question to myself was, “Do I let it fail or take it to the next level?” Take it to the next level of course!

“OK, let’s go miniature golfing” I said. The family laughed that I might just go through with that we had planned to do before dressing like a spectacle.

As we arrived to the small amusement park, we were met with many stares and pointing fingers as I walked through the lobby and to the miniature golf area. I tried to keep up with my daughter who had expressed that it didn’t bother her, but was not about to let me stay very close to her as we walked through the crowded room. Once we got our clubs and were waiting in line for our turn to start, a couple of girls were “acting” like one was taking a picture of the other when in fact they were lining themselves up for a “Kodak Moment” …of Me! My daughter then being bold said, “If you want a picture of him, just ask, I am sure he won’t mind.” They were embarrassed and continued to act like that wasn’t what they were doing.

Amongst all of the pointing and strange looks, we had a wonderful night of miniature golf and then headed for Artic Circle for milk shakes. As I pulled into a stall, my daughter said, “Uh, no! We are NOT going in!” I said “Sure we are, let’s go!” “No!” She said, “Let’s go through the drive up.”  We went in, but she stayed in the car. She had had enough and did not want to go through any further embarrassment.

There was no “Dad I get it” or “Dad you’re the best…. thanks for that awesome lesson.”  I don’t think my object lesson of “modest is hottest” made the statement I had intended, but no matter if social media gets the story mixed up and out of sorts, my daughter will always know that her dad loves her and cares about her enough to make a fool out of himself to make a point.

 

UPDATE 9/5/13:  KSL News picked up the story and interviewed Scott LIVE on Browser 5.0.  Click here to watch the news segment.

My daughter Kelsey made this video that shows WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!


And click HERE to watch the many TV interviews  – Going Viral!

An Answered Prayer

An Answered Prayer…

Today at church, I was asked to share a story in primary about PRAYER.  I knew the toughest part about fulfilling this request would be to do – it – without – crying! Prayer has helped me through some pretty tough stuff in my life.  It has been a means of comfort, inspiration and daily guidance.  Several prayer stories raced through my head making it somewhat difficult to choose just one.  The story I chose to share with those adorable 7-11 year olds was a story that took place last summer…..

My youngest daughter Myley, went on a three week LDS youth church historical tour called “Heritage Tours”  They traveled through 26 states in 21 days.  To document their experience, the one-hundred 18 year olds were asked to bring an actual hands-on camera, no cell phones were allowed.  About half way through the tour,  I got a frantic emergency phone call from Myley saying she had left her camera at their last stop…a truck stop…one state over from where she now was.  She gave me the name and location of the truck stop where she last used it.  I told her to pray that someone with integrity would find it. She said she already had. (thats music to a mother’s ears) The first thing I did was get on my knees and pray that somehow the camera would find it’s way back to Myley. Next I “googled” the truck-stop and called the number listed.  A lady answered, I explained our dilemma, she put me on hold as she went to check the  restroom, the adjourning fast food joint, and the lost-n-found.  No luck.  I thanked her and left my name and number just in case someone turned it in.  For several days I continued to pray for the return of the camera and made several calls to the truck stop.

Three weeks later, a package addressed to Myley, was delivered.  You guessed it!  It was the camera along with a letter from the lady who found it. She said she found the camera in the restroom and could tell from the pictures that these were teens traveling across the nation on some kind of tour.  She searched the truck stop looking for the girl in all the pictures.  She said she thought about turning it in, but decided against it, not knowing if they would be honest and see that it got back to the rightful owner. She then took the quest upon herself.  She searched the pictures one-by-one hoping for a clue of its owner….  then whaa-laaa…. she FOUND a clue!

While in Palmyra, New York at the Sacred Grove, Myley had taken a picture of her scriptures lying next to a special written blessing she had received.  The lady was able to zoom in enough on that picture to see Myley’s name, her parents names and state in which she lived. She used those clues to begin her search. For the next two weeks she was very diligent in searching facebook and calling all the Mackintosh’s listed in the whitepages until she finally found someone who still used a “home phone” …..an uncle who gave her my husband’s cell …..then she made the call.  My husband was elated at the news and knew Myley would be ecstatic.  He asked if we could send her a reward…. she said,  No, that she had had so much fun playing detective the past two weeks that her reward was being able to return it to the rightful owner.   How cool is that!

It’s a great feeling knowing there are good people in this world who are honest and desire to do the right thing under any circumstance.

The letter also told Myley to look at the LAST picture on the camera …..Image

Thank YOU Carol!  And Thank you Heavenly Father who heard and answered the prayers of a teen and her mother.

 

Living The Dream….

For as long as I can remember I dreamt of marrying the man of my dreams and raising a large family.  I was the youngest of five children and I always felt I got ripped off because I didn’t have younger siblings, therefore I grew up with the desire to have TEN kids so the “me” in the family would have older AND younger siblings.  When I gave birth to child number 7, I told my husband it felt like TEN so I was counting it!  That was kind of tongue-n-cheek, but seriously, my family felt complete when Skye, was born.  My husband said it best “Skye’s the limit.”  Yep, I was living the dream….great husband, a stay-at-home-mom raising a large family.

My dream of raising “perfect” children was also a dream come true!….my children are perfectly normal, perfectly challenged, perfectly unique, perfectly independent, perfectly stubborn and perfectly mine AND I love them more than life itself.  They are the reason I color my hair, fight winkles, don’t get enough sleep……and “most” days I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.  Hit me up on a “mom you don’t understand, I hate you” teenage-rage-kind-of-day and I’ll negotiate a child or two with you.

hmmm…my daughter just called ….flat tire….gotta go rescue her!  Of course these things only happen when my husband is out-of-town, but it’s one of those DOable challenges.

I love my family that has grown to four in-laws and one grandson. I am thankful for the many challenges and trials that keep us on our toes….we are a better family because of the bumps in the road.  God seems to know just what we need to get us out of our comfort zone and to learn what WE didn’t think we needed to learn.  I take a deep breath because I know just-around-the-corner is another challenge to strengthen our ability to understand, forgive, show compassion, empathy and patience.

The lesson at the end of the day is always the same….LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY.   That part is a piece of cake…..Easy. Done.