As a reporter for several small-town newspapers, I've written a lot
of obituaries. At small papers with correspondingly tiny reporting
staffs, it was par for the course for reporters to be expected to drop
everything - even deadline stories - to take...
A Boy's-Eye View of Justice
As a father, I have dreaded since my son’s birth in 2004 the day I’d have to try to explain the brutality, tragedy and sheer incomprehensible evil behind the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Recently, we had discussed in somewhat abstract terms the events...
Putting the Fairy Tale to Rest
So, where will you be at 3 a.m. Friday morning? Unlike many anglophiles and self-styled "royal watchers," I'll be in bed, sleeping soundly and enjoying that fact that I'm in no way motivated to get up at the butt-crack of dawn to watch a wedding - no...
Mr. Spock's Baby and Child Care
Both Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner turned 80 last week. Both actors took what could have been cheesy roles in an even cheesier show and turned them into iconic characters in a modern-day mythology that's been quoted by everyone from the cast of Saturday...
A Legacy Lost, Another Gained
Upon the death last month of Frank Buckles, at 110 America's last living World War I veteran, I was reminded that unlike most members of my generation, I not only had the privilege of knowing a veteran of The Great War, but also was fortunate enough...
Freeing the Tiger
It must really suck to be Amy Chua.
Well, allow me to amend that. It must really suck to be Amy Chua until the royalty check arrives.
Ms. Chua is the author, if you haven't heard by now from lots of other livid blog posts, of Battle Hymn of the Tiger...
The Difference Between Brown and Pink
With the passing of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday last week, there was a bit of a surprising milestone in our family: it was the first time I had ever heard my son use the word "black" in reference to someone's ethnicity.
To most folks, this wouldn't...
Pretending We Did Nothing Wrong
You, my friend, are lucky to be alive.
Consider that if you're over the age of 35, you were subjected to life threatening dangers verging on child abuse from the moment you were born until you left your parents' house.
Not only did you think seatbelts...
Images Best Departed
October brought us a couple of notable obituaries. First, rest in peace, dear Barbara Billingsly, the actress who gamely portrayed June Cleaver, mother of the Beaver, for nearly six years on the TV sitcom Twilight Zone we know as "Leave it to Beaver."
Barbara,...
Rich Dad, Sick Dad
It’s long been a family joke that I always – always – get sick on vacation.
I’d like to be the one to say this is a myth that’s grown out of just a few isolated incidents, but I can’t. It’s true, and I fear it will always be true. I leave the day-to-day...
What Are You?
Like lots of people of a certain age, my maternal grandmother was always interested - perhaps a little too interested - in what people were.As in, "What are you?" If you weren't immediately identifiable as of Anglo-Saxon or African descent, she wanted...
A Swift Kick
The Boy began his first karate class tonight, and I highly suspect it's the only way I'll ever be able to con him into using the honorifics of "sir" and "ma'am."His mother and I agreed before he was born that I wouldn't hammer the sir and ma'am thing...
The Princess-Industrial Complex
The Girl turned two not long ago, and it seems like it took exactly a millisecond thereafter for her to gaze upon her first Disney Princess product and utter an enthusiastic "Ooooohhh."It was a moment that I knew was on its way, just like that moment...
Update to Earlier Post - EW!
So, apparently things could get worse for Mackenzie Phillips than shooting up with her dad. I...
The Annals of Crappy Fatherhood - Rock 'n Roll Edition
Those of us old enough to remember Mackenzie Phillips on "One Day at a Time" have known for a long time that she was a long series of really bad messes. But in advance of her new tell-all book, she's revealing just how messed up her childhood really...
