“Dad Was Here”: A Song at the Heart of Boys of Summer: Third Base

Some songs are written. Others are lived.

“Dad Was Here”, crafted with my long-time composing partner, Will Townsley, PhD (a.k.a. Brother Will), grew out of miles on the road, long conversations between innings, and the quiet understanding that forms when a parent and child share something bigger than either of them. It sits at the emotional center of Boys of Summer: Third Base, the fourth film in the Boys of Summer documentary series that spans more than two decades of living with Parkinson’s disease. The song carries the same heartbeat as the films themselves: love, legacy, time, and presence.

The song traces a real journey: thirty Major League ballparks in sixty days back in 2004. My dad was diagnosed in 2001. On the surface, it’s a baseball road trip. Underneath, it’s about what it means to show up for each other when the future feels uncertain.

“Dad was here, in every throw, In every cheer, in all I know.”

That line matters because Parkinson’s disease is so often framed around loss: of movement, certainty, independence. What Boys of Summer tries to do, and what this song insists on, is something quieter and braver: it documents presence. Not “Dad was perfect.” Not “Dad was cured.” Just Dad was here…and I’m supremely grateful for that.

In the verses, the song moves through generations. A son becomes a father. Lessons once received are now passed on. Time thins the body, but not the bond. Baseball becomes the shared language for things that are hard to say directly: fear, pain, the fleeting wish for more time.

As the Boys of Summer series moves forward, the question shifts from Where are we going? to What are we growing? The answer isn’t stadiums or scoreboards. It’s memory. It’s love. It’s legacy and the community we keep returning to together, admiring and basking in our shared and active Success Stories™ .

I talk more about the origins and meaning of “Dad Was Here” in this short conversation with Yes, And…eXercise! board members Susan Scarlett and Karen Patterson. If you’d like to hear some of the story behind the song, you can watch the clip below.

Why This Matters Now

This spring, we’re inviting organizations, universities, clinics, and community groups to host screenings of Boys of Summer: Short Stop. It's a shorter, powerful entry point into the series and leads us in to the world premiere of Third Base at the World Parkinson’s Congress in 2026.

Hosting a screening isn’t just about watching a film. It’s about creating space:

• for families to see themselves reflected on screen

• for conversations that don’t always happen in exam rooms

• for reminding people living with Parkinson’s, and those who love them, that their stories matter now. And…many of those stories are yet to be known. When people die, and we all do, our stories and life experiences go with us - unless we’ve left breadcrumbs behind. 

“Dad Was Here” has become an unexpected anthem at these gatherings. People don’t just hear my dad in it. They hear theirs. Or the parent they’re caring for. Or the legacy they’re trying to leave.

If you’re considering hosting a screening this spring, know this: you’re not just sharing a documentary. You’re offering a powerful moment of connection. A reminder that presence counts. That love leaves a mark. That even as the lights fade, the story continues.

Because in every shared story, every gathered room, every brave conversation…Dad was here.

Contact Robert Cochrane, PhD, Director & Producer of the Boys of Summer series, to schedule your screening of Boys of Summer: Short Stop (run time: 53 minutes).

Upcoming screenings:

Stanford Health Library - Feb. 10

Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health/Cleveland Clinic - Mar. 5

Kirk Gibson Foundation - March 25

Harvard Beth-Israel - April 22 

Rock Steady Boxing - April 24

Parkinson's Foundation of Western Pennsylvania - TBD