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The Benny Store

Created by John Pointer

Yesterday Was Weird started as a simple post that went viral and helped millions of people cope with the grief of a loss, and remember the love that lives on. It is now an illustrated hardcover book for anyone who has to face “weird days” of their own. If you would like me to write anything special in your book just send me a message and I’ll be happy to customize it for you, a friend, or a loved one. If you'd just like a plain book without a dedication or note, select "plain" from the dropdown menu and get $10 off. As you scroll through the other items in the store, there are still about 50 shirts available, but not in all designs, sizes, styles, or colors. Most of them are charcoal gray, but there are some in black and a couple left in baby blue. If you can’t seem to find what you want, email me and I’ll let you know if I have one. If you have any other questions just ask. Sincerely, John (AKA Benny's Person) [email protected]

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Correction! Vote here for your favorite font!
over 7 years ago – Sun, Apr 09, 2017 at 11:47:17 PM

This is why it's good to have everyone looking over my shoulder: I reversed the order. Doh!

So here we go, in the proper order and labeled better. Please vote for Option 1 or 2 in the comments below.

Option 1:

 Option 2:

 p.s. Something is still going wrong, so you may see another image below this line. Ignore it if you do...

Something has gone wrong...
over 7 years ago – Sun, Apr 09, 2017 at 10:55:25 PM

For some reason, Kickstarter won't let me post a new update from my computer. First it was adding extra images for no good reason. Then when I finally hit "publish," it gave me a 404 "page not found" error.

So... I can't fix the mess up from the last post, which was that the top image is Option 2 and the bottom image is Option 1.

Frustrating, but... we shall endeavor to persevere! Please make sure your vote in the last post was for the correct number.

Thank you!

Narrowed Down and Bold!
over 7 years ago – Sun, Apr 09, 2017 at 09:47:27 PM

The designers made Option 1 bold to put it on more equal footing with Option 2.

Let me know which you prefer in the comments and we'll all make the choice together!

Each step brings us closer to the finish line! ❤️

Help select the font!
over 7 years ago – Sat, Apr 08, 2017 at 10:12:49 PM

The designers are digging in to the details and have narrowed it down to three fonts.

Which do you like best? Add a comment and let me know - Option 1, 2, or 3!

Two more milestones!
over 7 years ago – Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 12:06:31 AM

Today is a big day!

First milestone: I fine-tuned the text over the past week and feel confident that I've got the final version! Everything I did was pretty minor. I just wanted to tighten up the flow a little and take out some of the unnecessary repetitions. But the milestone is: I'm happy with it and it's now finalized for print!

Second milestone, related to the first but forward-looking: Everything the designers need is now in their hands and they will start work on the layout this weekend!

I'm really excited to see what kind of magic they work on it. I'm also feeling a funny mixture of relief that I've done everything I can at this point and nervousness over... basically nothing. Maybe the future? I don't know. 

It helps to look at the bracelet my friends Eric and Maria gave me and remind myself, nervousness is wasted energy. Benny would just wag his tail and dive into whatever came next.

So that's what I'll do. Here's to the next steps, all of which bring us closer and closer to the finished book!

Thank you all for helping to make it happen.

Sincerely,
John
AKA Benny's Person

By the way, the backstory on this bracelet is beautiful. When Eric's father Barney passed, they made these for all their friends. Barney was an incredibly smart, worldly, successful, generous man, so I loved the reminder to follow his lead.

Eric and Maria have been very close friends for years and I even helped them choose a boxer, Roxie, after they fell in love with Benny. Barney was always impressed with Benny's obedience, especially the "place" command, where Benny would just sit in a chair until he was released.

Shortly after Benny's Weird Day, they had me over for dinner and in addition to just being fantastic, supportive friends, they gave me a small bag full of these. If you zoom in on any photo of me since then, you'll see this bracelet reminding me of both of those fantastic role models.