Fatherhood

At the golf-scramble the other day, there was golf,  a dinner, a silent auction and a live auction. Needless to say, there were quite a few members of the family, co-workers, and people from the community present. What got to me were the children present. There were about six or seven toddlers ... all of them were very cute, with little hats when they were outside, bring carried by doting parents, being fawned over by loving family or friends who just wanted to see an amazing, loving smile. I still think that if you lined them up, side-by-side, that Patrick would be the cutest of them all, but I expect that each of the parents there would tell you the same thing. But, in this case, I'm right!

We had a visit to one of the local malls recently ... they have a very nice play area for the children with a padded floor and a "space" theme, shuttle and all. There are things to climb on and through ... and, as far as Patrick is concerned, the coolest part is that the shuttle has pilot and co-pilot seats with steering wheels. He immediately headed for the "cockpit" and waited patiently as child after child (many of them significantly larger than him) jumped into the seat. I stepped over after a few minutes in the hopes that some child would give him a chance at the pilot's seat. No luck ... they certainly didn't care and their parents were doing nothing , as well. Patrick, getting bored noticed that he could crawl through the body of the shuttle ... all cool until he got boxed in by several children (again, not small) heading toward him from both sides. This is the point where I stepped in ... especially since I could see that the pilot seat was a...

My spell-check is highlighting the word "texting" ... not in the computer's dictionary.  In 21st century lexicon, texting is both a noun and an adjective ... both an object and a description of an activity. To me ... a computer squid, it seems odd, but texting is something I've simply learned to live with.  I have always preferred talking to someone rather than sending a text or speaking with a machine.  I know computers, but have little interest in living large parts of my life on them ... there needs to be, as with anything, a balance. Over the years, I've developed a philosophy in relation to communications (outside of work).  I've always kept my phone separate from my e-mail separate from my iPOD/iPAD with my calendar.  Only recently have I even spent the money on a texting plan (kind of got battered into that one).  I have always explained the philosophy, in part, as keeping the devices separate based on the type of use as a means of maintaining ...

Here are a few warnings that I've seen that keep me laughing (OK, occasionally crying I am laughing so hard) ... DEAR LORD, someone call Hazmat. Warning: Part Monkey. Warning: Objects in fists may be closer than they appear. Warning: Mouth exceeds recommended noise levels.  Hearing protection advised. Warning: Laughter follows. Warning: Will have more energy than you can ever dream of. Warning: Remote Control will disappear in seconds. Warning: May Contain Small Monster Warning: You are advised to keep all hair, loose clothing, jewelry, etc. away from baby at all times. Approach at your own risk.  Parents are not responsible for any pain, injuries, or damages that will occur.

This is advice that Bill Gates gave at a high school about things they did not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teaching has created a generation of children with no concept of reality and how this concept sets them up for failure in real life. RULE 1 Life is not fair ... get used to it. RULE 2 The world will not care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. RULE 3 You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car phone, until you earn both. RULE 4 If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure. RULE 5 Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping they called it Opportunity. RULE 6 If you mess up...