26 July 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3176: it wasn’t authorised
“George, I've got it! This is is our last day of having to voluntarily co-ground, and we will never need to be grounded again! Why didn't I think of this earlier?”
Nine-year-old Milton Trent had an epiphany, and then took the hand of his best friend nine-year-old George Ludlow and brought him to his grandfather, 66-year-old Thomas Stepforth Sr.
“What's happening, y'all?” the grandfather said with a smile.
“So, Pop-Pop and George, this is the problem and we can solve it. You and me keep getting grounded because we keep doing stuff before asking for permission, because military dads and granddads don't play that.”
“Yeah, and they have our grandmothers and moms on that, too,” George said. “I could have fallen over when Grandma started talking about 'it wasn't authorized' about something some kids at the high school have just done – I mean Papa is just popping out of her month. But anyway, go on, Milton.”
“Wait a minute,” Mr. Stepforth said. “You're saying y'all are getting grounded just because you are not asking for permission?”
“Yep, and it's not going to happen any more because we're going to do even better!” Milton said. “Who needs to ask for permission when you know how to sell!”
George's whole face lit up with wonder.
“Milton, it's brilliant! I watched while I was in foster care – people buying all kinds of stuff they didn't need because somebody knew how to sell!”
“Right, and for us it is going to be even better because the stuff we are trying to do, the world and the galaxy really needs!” Milton said. “We just need you to teach us how to sell, Pop-Pop!”
Mr. Stepforth considered this and smiled gently.
“The first thing about selling is knowing your customer, though,” he said. “You don't sell everything to everybody.”
“Yeah, but, you're a billionaire, so you gotta know how to sell more to the most!” Milton said.
“The second thing about selling is from your Stepforth great-grandfather, Big Pop-Pop Theodore,my dad,” Mr. Stepforth said. “He once said to a door-to-door salesman: 'I don't care whether you can sell anything from spit to Shinola – if I don't want it, you can keep it!' I don't think anyone around here is looking to be sold on, say, rockets powered by bean gas episodes.”
“But they just don't know they need it yet,” George said.
“And we've got to sell it to them so they can know!” Milton said.
“I'm going to save you some time; no one wants to live through the fuel leaks before y'all can power up the rocket,” Mr. Stepforth said. “All the selling in the world can't get you around that.”
George and Milton considered this, and sighed.
“Right idea, wrong product,” George said.
“Back to the drawing board – but we will be back!” Milton said as heand George ran off, back into the joys of childhood.