(Photos courtesy: Matt Goodman)
TAUNTON, Mass. - Some experiences are priceless.
Many people dream of having their first legal drink when they finally turn 21, but the moment was extra special for one young man in Massachusetts. While his father had died several years prior, that didn’t stop him from buying his son his first beer.
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When Matt Goodman was just 15 years old, his father died from cancer, Boston 25 reports. Before passing, however, Matt’s father gave his sister a $10 bill. He told her to use the money on Matt’s 21st birthday to buy him his first beer.
“I know the hardest thing for my dad was the things he was going to miss out on,” Casey Goodman, Matt’s sister, told the news outlet. “Anyone who knew my dad knew he was this goofy, larger-than-life of-the-party guy, and my little brother was his entire world.”
Matt's mother and sister held on to the bill for six years until Matt's 21st birthday, when it was used to do exactly what it was intended for.
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Matt shared photos of the $10 bill and the beer he bought with it (a Bud Light, his father’s favorite), writing, “Almost 6 years ago before my dad passed he gave my sister this $10 bill to give to me on my 21st birthday so he could buy me my first beer, cheers pops having this one for you!”
Since posting it, Matt’s tweet has gone viral and has been liked over 500,000 times.
Budweiser noticed the Tweet and responded, “We're raising one to your pops, Matt. He got your first beer and the next one's on us.”
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According to a follow-up post from Matt, the beer company followed through with its promise and sent Matt several cases of beer.
While that might seem like enough of a happy ending, Goodman followed up by posting that people were apparently asking for his Venmo so they could also buy him a beer. Instead of accepting the money, however, he asked the donations be sent to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.