It Takes a Village
Just this morning I came across a blog post about a woman who was arrested for letting her 9-year old play unsupervised at the park… a public park. The charge was “unlawful conduct towards a child,” and really all the facts surrounding it are not really needed to be said such as the mother’s color, job, social class… however, in the articles, all of that is mentioned. What is important is this… an adult approached this 9-year old child, asked where her mother is, found out her mother was at work, and then deemed it appropriate to call the police resulting in the end result of her child be taken into custody into the department of social services. I am a father of just 2-months now. I have no extensive background on the whole picture of parenting. I don’t claim to be an expert when it comes to raising children. In fact I bite my tongue often when I think that “someone’s doing it wrong,” because it’s not my place to say anything… unless that child is in eminent danger. But you know what I am… a human being. That’s right. I’m a 32-year-old human being. I was a child once. I learned to ride bikes, and was aloud a ride bike down the street and in our cul-de-sac unsupervised. Then I met up friends, and we climbed trees, and went to the park. I had a skateboard, which I rode by myself to a friend’s house… or just to get an Continue Reading →
Posted in Dissapointment, Parenthoodwith 18 comments.
“Leave Room for Jesus!”
That’s my favorite saying when I see underage boys and girls hugging or kissing, or if I’m chaperoning a dance. Man… I just realized, I’ve chaperoned a dance. I say it cause it’s funny. Not even remotely do I believe that boys and girls should actually be leaving room for Jesus… or do I? Well to start off, if I did believe that, it definitely wouldn’t be in the physical sense of two young budding lovers, hugging up on each other–although the older I get, the more unnecessary I think the act of youth intimacy is. But what about leaving room for Jesus in your mind, your heart, or your soul? Should there be room for Jesus there? Should I introduce my son to the idea of religion? Controversy! Well let me give you my background story. I’ve mentioned before that I frequented the south to visit my dad’s side of the family. Well in the south you go to church at least 4 times a week… maybe even 2 to 3 of those times actually being on Sunday. Yes… the stereotypes are true and that’s why people joke about it. There’s the obvious Sunday mass… but sometimes you go to the 5 p.m. mass, after you’ve already attended the 7 or 8 a.m. service. Bible study on Sunday mornings. Choir practice on Thursdays. You have to go for adult choir practice too because your aunt or parent is in the choir… or maybe your cousin plays piano and organ… (and make sure Continue Reading →
Posted in Fear, Getting Ready, Those Odd moments...with 7 comments.
You’re the Best Lyric That’s Ever Happened to Me…
A reoccurring topic that has been popping up in my house lately is old music. I’m not talking classic Sound Garden or old 2-Pac. I’m talking the type of music that moves the soul… the type of music that creates the tingling feeling of goose-bumps on your skin… the kind that makes you want to get up and dance like your uncles would at family gatherings, or the kind that makes you want to drop everything you’re doing… go find your wife… and serenade the shit out of her… …That’s right I’m talking Music. See the problem with the conversation of music is that music preference is similar to food preferences. Some foods are universally loved–like pizza. Everyone loves pizza. Even if sausage isn’t your favorite topping… you’d still eat if if someone brought it to the party. Survivor’s – Eye of the Tiger can be compared to pizza. There is a very small percentage of people who hate pizza… or Eye of the Tiger. However, Aqua’s – Barbie Girl is more like black licorice. There are very few people who can actually stomach it… and even fewer people seeking it out for pleasure. Why music has been coming up a lot in the house? Well for different reasons. Recently Jack White put out some type of “super album” that has all kinds of bells and whistles such as playing backwards, hidden tracks, and even holograms while the vinyl is playing. This brought up the nostalgic memories of growing up with actual vinyl records in Continue Reading →
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The 30 Movies That Kids Must See
One of the first things that my wife and I figured out we had in common, is that were that we we are serious movie buffs. I mean honestly… the truth is that between the collection she has, mated with the collection I have… we are the real reason Blockbuster went out of business. There used to be a time where I could tell you the director, the stars, and the plot, of pretty much anything out. I’d watch anything just to say I’ve seen it. I’d seen all the originals, the remakes, the sequels, and even the unnecessary sequels to the sequels… for instance The Sandlot 3. One of the more unnecessary movies I’ve seen… but… I’ve seen it. So naturally I’ve created a list of my favorite childhood movies, that I will force my baby boy to watch… no matter how inappropriate they may be. Inappropriate child movies? Judge for yourself… “RUN FOR IT MARTY!!!!” Back to the Future was the perfect childhood movie. So much so that my wife is pretty much over my references of jumping into my Delorian and traveling 88 mph. Who hates a movie about time traveling back to the past and giving a family bully a taste of their own medicine… HELLO McFLY! If you didn’t like this movie, you can “make like a tree and get out of here.” P.S… Part 2 is another must see… but like the Godfather series… don’t ruin it by watching part 3. “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!” Well, Continue Reading →
Posted in Parenthoodwith 6 comments.
Am I My Father’s Son? An Ode to my Father this Father’s Day
As I begin this journey as a father, I sit and reflect on what it means to be a father. I guess I could start by reflecting on all the lessons I’ve learned about how to be a father, from what I learned about knowing my own. My father has been dead now for over 15 years now, but I can literally say that every day I use something that I’ve learned from him, such as: I learned to be honest with people. My father was a hustler. He sold fake jewelry to tourists. He took small businesses to court for bullshit lawsuits that he knew he’d win for a quick few thousand bucks. He told me he’d “be right back”, as he left me in the car to keep myself occupied anywhere up to an hour, with not even keys in the car to keep the radio on. He picked me up three days late as he left me to stay with his cousins, while he had guns and knives pulled on him, as well as spending time in jail awaiting bail. All while playing it “cool” in front of me as he picked me up as if nothing happened. I learned respect and how to be polite. My father was old school south. And I mean children-are-to-be-seen-not-heard kinda old school south. I didn’t mind so much because when I was with him, I did have a lot of cousins and friends to hang out with, but when I walked Continue Reading →
Posted in Did He Really Just Say That?, Dissapointment, Parenthoodwith 6 comments.
