In a day and age where the news is full of nothing but doom and gloom, it’s nice to see a story that makes you feel good every now and then, and this is exactly one of those stories.

Cody Shugart grew up in Victoria, Texas, without a solid father figure of his own. He knew that one day he wanted to grow up and be a father, but he wanted to do better than his own father had done for him. Without someone to guide him, that was going to be a challenge. Then entered one very special man into Shugart’s life.

Milton West, known as Mr. Chip to Shugart, was his next door neighbor. Shugart’s relationship with Mr. Chip was a very special one, but one that he kept quiet about most of his life. That is, until one day when he posted a photo of Mr. Chip holding his son on social media. The picture got so much attention that it went viral, and Shugart says he knew it was time to share his story.

Mr. Chip had been in Shugart’s life since he was just two-years-old. He was a retired operator from DOW chemical and was one of the men that Shugart says helped make him into the man he is today. He was the father figure that he had always needed.

Shugart says that Mr. Chip taught him the value of a good education, how to take care of his yard, how to treat his mother right, and many other important life lessons. Mr. Chip taught him to value people for who they are, and not what they look like. He says Mr. Chip helped him become the son, father, and husband that he is today.

Shugart says he’s grateful that God put Mr. Chip into his life, and so when Mr. Chip called him and said Shugart’s son was his grandson and he wanted to be called “Pop”, Shugart happily agreed. Pop and his wife Shirley babysit for little Bob Wayne, and love him like he is their own. Shugart has even come up with a special name for Shirley. She’s known as “Lolli” so that when he takes his son to see them, they are known as “Lolli Pop.”

If his son learns half as much as Shugart did from Mr. Chip, Shugart says he’ll turn into one really good kid. He says he’d like to think that showing the picture of Bob Wayne and Mr. Chip will show people that not all race relations are bad like the media tends to portray.

He says he just wanted to portray a positive loving message to encourage people and he says he’s sure that there are millions of stories just like theirs.