Archive for July 2011
An evening of challenging questions and fabulous gifts in Lebanon, CT
On Monday night I had the pleasure of speaking as a part of the third annual Connecticut Author’s Trail at the Jonathan Trumbull Library in Lebanon, CT. An audience of about 50 intrepid Author Trail followers were kind enough to fill the room to listen to me chat about writing and books and life in…
Read MoreMy daughter recognized me as an author for the first time. I’ll never forget it.
My daughter noticed my books for the first time today. They are stacked on the cluttered bookshelf near where I write, and as I was giving her a hug, she looked over my shoulder and asked, “What’s that?” I told her that they were the books that I had written. She knows that I write…
Read MoreI still support ferocity
A week ago I wrote a post about parenting. Specifically, I outlined what I thought it took to be the best parent. The response I received to that post (and there was a lot) was evenly split. It consisted of: Praise over the ideas expressed in the post (one woman told me that she will…
Read MoreA girl who takes care of her cat will surely take care of her elderly parents. Right?
Before leaving for school today, my daughter made sure that her new kitty cat was well taken care of. This bodes well for me in old age. Right?
Read MoreMcDonald’s makes Happy Meals healthier, regardless of The Daily Beast’s uncertainty over the matter
The Daily Beast tweets: McDonald’s Adds Fruit to Happy Meals: In attempt to make food healthier. http://thebea.st/nV5a2p #cheatsheet In attempt to make food healthier? Since when is fruit (and vegetables, which have also been added to the Happy Meals) not a healthier choice? Is there any chance that adding fruit and vegetables (and reducing the…
Read MoreRhinos and lions and left-handers, oh my!
Two years ago I wrote a post about group descriptors. Phrases like a pride of lions and a murder of crows, as well as three that I invented myself. Based on what I wrote in that post, I didn’t like any of the descriptors that I had invented at the time. But two years later,…
Read MoreWinnie the Pooh aborted. Too damn frightening.
My wife and I attempted to take our daughter to her first movie yesterday. In truth, Clara has been to many movies as an infant but has no recollection as she was asleep for all of them. She attended two movies designed for mothers of little babies. Scheduled for the afternoon, the volume is turned…
Read MoreColorforms teach important life lessons about the limitations of caregivers and the importance of suppressing your feelings.
My daughter played with Colorforms for the first time today. She loves the toy. Today she organized a baby’s birthday party, and as she assembled the people and balloons and cakes on the board, she narrated a rather complicated story for us. It was fabulous. There was only one problem. This piece: Clara did not…
Read MoreChatting with your ex-wife at a football game or marrying your ex-wife’s first husband. Which is worse?
I often make fun of my friend, Shep, for spending more time speaking and texting his ex-wife while we are attending Patriots games than I spend talking or texting my wife for the whole time that I am away. He will claim that the communication is always daughter related, but it’s not true. Yes, they…
Read MoreRespect yourself and shut up.
I cannot stand to listen to people complain about being disrespected. Earlier this week I listened to professional football players complain about being disrespected by team owners for prematurely voting on a collective bargain agreement, even as their NFL brethren were calling the owners names and tweeting statements like: Look guys I have no reason…
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