Achooo
The Boy Child has a cold. Things leaking from his nose all over the place. The Girl Child is a little hoarse. I woke up at 12:30 this morning with a huge sneeze that, much like a trumpet, heralded the arrival of full congestion. Yuck.
Thank goodness for Sudafed. I am just starting to feel human again. As human as any lawyer feels, that is.
1
I hate it when we all get sick. Homeschooling has helped a lot in that department, but naturally hasn't kept us totally healthy.
I hope you all recover soon.
Posted by: Jordana at March 20, 2007 07:17 PM (5FmMx)
2
Well helloooo!
After along time I decide to finally pick up my blogging again and look arround,see whats going on with all y'all and what do I see??Y'all are sick??Get well soon!
We still homeschool as well.Not an easy task but better then anything!Not sure if we get less sick because of that because there are a lot of kids here in the hood.
Anyways......get well soon!
And speaking of lawyers....I need some legal advise in a DUI case (no I did not)...can't afford a lawyer,can't get a public defender.Any ideas?
Greetings from LW and Jim!
Weekend plans: pizza and fossils
We escaped this weekend. We bundled the children into the car and escaped with them to that well known tourist destination: New Haven, CT. Ok, it actually was a lot nicer than I had expected. There were loads of beautiful buildings and nicely groomed streets.
We started off at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, making pizza in New Haven since 1925 in coal fired brick ovens. The pies came out on superbly crisp crusts. The kids and the Viking Bride split one pizza while I had my own small one with anchovies, sausage, cheese and mushrooms. The kids bravely tried the anchovies but did not care for them. The pizza was worth a trip all by itself. Really. Pepe's is most famous for the white clam pizza, which I will certainly try next time. Here's a review of the place, if you are interested.
Apres lunch, we got back in the car and headed over to the Peabody Museum of Natural History to check out the dinosaurs. There were plenty of fossils to excite interest. One of the guidebooks said that the musuem had a collection of shrunken heads which sparked a nice little discussion in the car about cannibals. The kids were interested in cooking methods, among other things.
The museum was quite lovely and we went ahead and joined, especially since we found out that we could then sign up for sleepovers with the dinosaurs, which I think that the children would adore doing. I would, of course, hate it, but would force myself to go. Ahem. Small museums, while lacking the resources and world beating curatorial staffs, are almost always worth a visit and have quite a lot of charm on their own.
1
Pizza and the Peabody Museum: a great itinerary. You make me want to go to New Haven!
Posted by: MCNS at March 19, 2007 11:54 AM (7eYDK)
2
That sounds like a very good time. I too love small museums. Especially as they are often less crowded and more kid-friendly (even Big Kids).
Posted by: caltechgirl at March 20, 2007 03:56 PM (/vgMZ)
3
We do Pepe's and the Peabody every time we are out East. The kids love the Irish Elk there - they have him tucked in the corner before the big hall - and I love the white clam pizza... Try it, with or without some pork fat. Portugese love the pork and clams combo and they are smart to do so.
Posted by: Mrs. Peperium at March 21, 2007 04:52 PM (czsd0)
Numbers
So, if site meter allows one to predict with any kind of accuracy, I ought to get 10 more visitors shortly and thus go over 95,000 since I started this.
Whoa.
Thank you, in advance, for all the visits and especially for all the comments. I love the comments. I try to tell myself I write to fulfill some need to express myself but, and while that may be true, I also write because I looooove the comments, both good and bad. So, to all of my very kind and faithful readers (all six of you), let me send to you my heartfelt thanks as I close in on 100k.
1
Hi RP. Comments are truly nice to get but I still need to tell you that I always find your blog fun and interesting to read -- even when I don't comment. But for today -- here's a handshake/comment...to make your day a bit more special.
Posted by: Roberta S at March 19, 2007 04:02 PM (+CWFB)
2
I can barely write on my own blog anymore, much less leave thoughtful, cogent commentary elsewhere. However, I do check in, faithfully.
Hello, RP.
Posted by: Jennifer at March 22, 2007 09:27 PM (RlFqM)
3
RP, my Subaru just passed 100,000 the other day and I missed it, so in honor of your fine blog, allow me to offer a preemptive celebratory honk!
Posted by: MCNS at March 24, 2007 09:25 AM (IFxw4)
Zimbabwe: checking in
I have written at length in the past about Zimbabwe and the slow motion train wreck that is was becoming over the years. I have despaired of it entirely. I despair no longer. It has ceased becoming a slow motion train wreck and become a fast moving train wreck. Amazing thing progress, no?
Zimbabwe is worsening fast. The NY Times summed it up as follows this morning:
ZimbabweÂ’s political stability has deteriorated in recent weeks in lockstep with its economy, now plagued by ever-steeper inflation and worsening shortages of basic commodities. The annual inflation rate is now more than 1,700 percent, and the black-market value of ZimbabweÂ’s beleaguered dollar plunged 57 percent last week alone, to 17,500 for one American dollar.
(Emphasis supplied).
The result? Emboldended opposition parties are forming to pressure Mugabe and to try to change things. The reaction? Beating them with iron rods, crushing skulls and eye sockets.
And as much as things change within Zimbabwe, the most influential neighbor, South Africa, does nothing. So, the more things change, once again, the more things stay the same.
Think of the effects on the people, if you will, as their savings evaporate.
How to tie a tie: three basic knots
I found this on the Wall Street Journal -- Europe Edition -- Weekend Section and thought I would post it here. The big knot is back my friends and here's how to do it:
A happy cooking experience
In order to make sure that my Viking Bride continues to get to experience the joys of adult conversation, I invited another couple over to our house for dinner last Saturday night and then made sure to do all of the cooking. I thought I might share with you all the very successful recipe I made up as I went along.
I took one butterflied and boneless leg of lamb, about 4 pounds, and covered it with fresh chopped rosemary, fresh chopped sage leafs, crushed garlic cloves, some sea salt, cracked black pepper, and then drizzled it with olive oil. I let it sit in the roasting pan for a couple of hours.
Oven to 475 and roasting pan in for about 25 minutes. The lamb is nice and pink that way and the herbs and garlic get all crispy and yummy and the house smells wonderful.
Remove the lamb from the roasting pan and put on a warm platter.
Put the roasting pan over a burner and deglaze the pan with a very healthy amount of cognac and a little bit of water. Let the cognac/water mixture boil up as you happily scrape all the crispy bits off the bottom of the roasting pan. Sprinkle into the liquid some dried sage, be liberal with it.
Pour the accumulated meat juices from the platter back into the pan.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in some heavy cream, as much as you feel you want, really. When well mixed, pour it into a gravy boat and away you go!
I served this with a Pinot Noir, roasted asparagus (that I roasted on the bottom rack while the lamb cooked) and mashed sweet potatoes.
It was a huge success. I was so pleased with the cognac/sage/cream pan sauce that I created that I just had to share.
Copies are being made
and the briefs, notices of motion, affirmations in support, volumes of exhibits, and the request for judicial intervention are all then going to be bound. The briefs (not very brief) total over 70 pages. This project has consumed my professional life for over a month. That's what happens when you come into a 20 year piece of litigation completely cold on the facts and the prior proceedings and those prior proceedings include at least two appellate decisions.
I think that the papers are pretty good. I think that some of the arguments are going to give the other side fits.
But here's the thing. I have been running so hard and so long on adrenalin that I feel drained and let down now that the papers are ready to be served. Anyone else get like that at the end of an intense project?
1
Definitely. Not when I know I've done a project well and held myself together well - then I'm just really happy. When I've put so much of myself into a project that there's almost nothing of me left.. it's like I'm missing a bit of me when I suddenly realizing that I'm solid and sitting in an office chair.
Posted by: Hannah at March 15, 2007 12:20 PM (5w+E2)
2
I absolutely feel like that, especially when I've been burning the candle from both ends as it were. Then I'm physically as well as mentally drained. Glad you made it through, RP!
Posted by: GrammarQueen at March 15, 2007 06:37 PM (fWrQ6)
3
both of us today, evidently! My grant application went to NIH today.
Posted by: caltechgirl at March 15, 2007 10:57 PM (r0kgl)
Sub Prime Mortgage implosion
I was kind of hoping that now that the sub prime mortgage market has imploded and taken the Dow Jones and S&P indices with it, that the amount of mortgage solication email s*p*_m I received on an hourly basis would recede. No such luck.
Man, these emails are like voices reaching to you from the grave.
Something to ponder
My dad sent me the following email and I thought it contained so many things that smacked of truth that I wanted to reproduce it here for your pleasure:
#10 Life is sexually transmitted.
#9 Good health is merely the slowest rate at which one can die
#8 Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.
#7 Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
#6 Some people are like a slinky... not really good for anything,but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
#5 Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital dying of nothing
#4 All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
#3 Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars, and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents???
#2 In the 60's, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
AND THE # 1 THOUGHT FOR 2007: We know exactly where one cow with mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America , but we haven't a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.
A question for da ladies
Who told you all that relatively tight, high waisted, pants in plaid would be flattering? I have been seeing it again and again on the trains. Young women who otherwise appear to have fairly nice figures in these pants. When did they become fashionable? Has no one told them that it is impossible not to look like they are packing huge butts with those things?
Make the bad pants stop, please. Summer cannot come too soon.
1
Better watch it or you'll make Mr. JD's worst-dressed list.
Posted by: Mark at March 01, 2007 12:26 AM (sS1gd)
2
I particularly hate the combination of the tight pants, preferably in some strange pattern, with the pants cut away so you can see the knee high boots.
Don't they know it looks horrible?
Posted by: Hannah at March 01, 2007 11:16 AM (5w+E2)
3
Problem is RP, that women always ask another woman what looks nice. As if they would know...
You do women a huge favor when you voice any opinion on women's clothes because it is men we try to look attractive for. Boldly letting us know...is so good of you. I can only assume the wife isn't wearing them. If she was, I think this opinion would be considerably less forthright. (Chuckle)
Posted by: Roberta S at March 05, 2007 03:16 AM (sGazp)
A farewell party
My wife had her farewell dinner from her place of employment last night. She was taken to a Mexican joint with 17 others. I gather they had a heck of a time. Her boss called me at just after 9 to suggest it was time for me to come to whisk my wife home. I gather that the timing of that call coincided with the decision to play quarters. With tequilla.
Ouch.
The wife is feeling a bit fragile this morning.
I am, too, but for different reasons. I have to stop, and I mean it, stop playing squash with people 15 years younger than I am. It is going to kill me. I played four games this morning. I think my arm is going to fall off and when it does, it will have my right knee to keep it company.
1
I know what you mean. I was playing basketball with younger guys and those damn whippersnappers have no respect for the elderly.
I get the last laugh, though. I trip them with my cane when they're not looking.
Posted by: Howard at February 28, 2007 06:09 PM (fj69X)
A random disconnected constitutional
I have not had the time or the energy to do one of these posts in a long time. I'm going to start it now at around 12:30 while I wait for a client to call me back and then I am going to add to it as I go along through the day until I just call it quits and post it.
The Viking Bride leaves the work force this week. Her last day on the payroll is Friday. We are more than slightly apprehensive about the future, both economically speaking and in terms of her sanity as she shifts to become the primary care giver.
* * *
My mother in law is taking care of the kids this past two weeks now. I came home from work to find her standing in the kitchen with the Boy Child at the kitchen table. The yellow pages was open on the counter. I said to her: "M___, why are the yellow pages open to the bail bonds section? I come home from work and find you've just been . . . " At this point, the Boy Child, who was following raptly, contributes with an emphatic nod of his head: "screwing around". My mother in law, I am happy to say, thought that was hilarious.
* * *
A high school basketball team in NYC was suspended for the season. The school is reputed to be a tough place, although with a school graduation rate of 56%, it is above the NYC average, so the Times reported. 56% is above average? Holy crap. How is it that the NYC public schools graduate fewer than half of their students and the parents are not burning cars in the streets? Is it just that expectations are lower? How terribly sad.
* * *
I have to stop playing squash with 26 year olds. I turn 40 this year. There is a difference between a 26 year old knee and shoulder and the 40 year old version of the same. The 40 year old version hurts more.
* * *
The baby has begun to crawl and is so damn happy with himself that it is impossible not to watch him and feel delighted yourself.
* * *
A Jewish kindergarten was attacked today in Berlin. Anti Semitic graffiti was sprayed and a smoke bomb, that failed to ignite, was thrown into the building. Despicable. Utterly despicable. What brave warriors to attack a building full of five and six year olds.
* * *
The Oscars. What a load of self-referential crap. Does anyone care?
* * *
I got sucked into a vicious political fight at an organization I belong to. I learned something very useful there. Tell the truth and act only in ways consistent with your moral outlook. It makes politics irrelevant and your choices become very easy. I'm not saying take the high road at all times, just don't act in ways that will make you ashamed. That said, it was interesting to be part of an event that had not taken place in this organization for over a hundred years. It was less fun being a target for the discontented and dishonorable opposition, however.
* * *
My mother is currently in a rehab facility, more of a nursing home. Nursing homes are, no matter how hard they try to make it cheerful, horrible places. They are places where many people are put so that they can die with the least amount of inconvenience to their families. They smell bad and are always overheated and stuffy. I hope I have enough money as the years go by to make sure my parents never die in one of these places. They are the warehouses for the not yet dead.
* * *
I bought a new computer this weekend. Our old laptop has developed serious and terminal problems. My wife insisted on something new. I bought an iMac, my first Apple. So far, I am chagrined to admit, I like it just fine. How long will that last? Beats me. But so far, so good. It is kind of easy to use, although I miss the "My Computer" feature from Windows. Any way to reproduce that feature?
1
The Boy Child is adorable. I delight in your entire family.
Any chance the Viking Bride will begin a blog of her own?
Posted by: Christina at February 27, 2007 09:51 PM (tywUa)
2
I so enjoyed reading the updates. Thank you for sharing them with us as I was wondering how your mother was and how the viking bride was getting along.
You'll see in 6-8 weeks it will all be second nature. You will all be fine once the period of transition is over. You will even adjust to the new economic trends. You will find, where there is love in abundance, there is great wealth.
Posted by: michele at February 28, 2007 12:49 AM (Lrt1F)
Numb, which is good
I am back in the office after a morning spent in the dentist's chair while he repaired my fractured tooth. I cannot feel a thing, yet. But I will, I know.
Today I mark the birthday of the Boy Child who turns four. I spoke to him on the phone as I had to stay overnight in the City last night. He sounds very grown up already. He has chosen a white cake with white frosting and a banana cream filling. Sounds like it will be a good one.
Things have been insane of late -- terrible work deadlines and pressures. Also, my mother has been hospitalized as the chemo has destroyed her white blood cell count, she is anemic, she has thrush (an infection that closed her throat) and she contracted neumonia. Just when she was ready, after a full week in the hospital, to be released, my father was struck down by the flu so she has to go to a rehab facility because she clearly cannot go home.
So, right now, the numb I am feeling is better than the frazzled I will feel shortly.
I hope you are all well and, if you are still bothering to come by and visit this sadly neglected blog, on track for good weekend!
1
what a week! Happy birthday to the Boy Child, and my best to your Mom and your Dad.
Posted by: caltechgirl at February 23, 2007 01:38 PM (r0kgl)
2
RP,
Sorry to read about your Mom and Dad, but I hope they get better soon.
And congrats to the BC for turning 4 and choosing an awesome cake.
Howard
Posted by: Howard at February 23, 2007 02:45 PM (u2JaN)
3
Yikes! Hope the chemo doesn't kill off your mom's antibiotics.
Yay! The Boy Child is growing up so fast.
Cracked teeth suck. I seem to gotten something stuck in one during dinner last night. By 10:00pm a felt a toothache coming on and by 3:00 the side of my face started swelling. Since it's Sunday, I'll just the vitamins, orange juice and my natural immune system take care of it. Luckily, my white blood cells seem to be pretty robust and plentiful -- knock wood. I haven't had a common cold in over 10 years.
Hope everyone's back to feeling great very soon.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at February 25, 2007 02:30 PM (4aKmk)
4
I hope your Mom and Dad recover fully, and soon. As for the tooth, don't eeeeeven go there - I know all about that pain, unfortunately! And the work, I know about that one, too.
I am hoping that Spring brings about lots of positive changes!
Posted by: Monica C. at February 26, 2007 06:03 PM (PaLQU)
5
Hope this week is better for you, RP! Hang in there.
Posted by: grammarqueen at February 27, 2007 11:45 AM (mHkPO)
6
"if you are still bothering to come by and visit this sadly neglected blog,"
Always.
)>
Posted by: Mark at March 01, 2007 12:31 AM (sS1gd)
Beware the ice in front of my desk
It is too cold to write today and too cold to stay. I am leaving now. We have no heat in the office. I was planning to write today, to catch up a bit. But I can see my breath. And my hands are too cold -- soooo cold that I don't even want to try to go the bathroom before I leave!
So, hasta. I'm off to run errands before catching the train home.
1
I'm about to find out how you feel. We ran out of oil last night and wont be getting delivery 'til tomorrow. It's a-gonna be a cold night. **shudder**
Posted by: Tuning Spork at February 19, 2007 05:32 PM (S4QmY)
The weekend got away from me
We were all over the place this weekend. I had the Boy Child at a birthday party for a while and then with me at the super market. I swear, at not quite four, he seems to be adopting some of his sister's speech formalism (I blame myself). When I asked him if David and Jack were is best friends, he pulled his thumb from his mouth and replied: "It would appear so, yes". Blew my mind. This on top of his six year old older sister telling me that another much younger person called her names that were "inappropriate". Sheesh.
Where was all of this wonderful eloquence when we needed it, though? No where. The kids, this Sunday, got to meet the Norwegian Crown Princess, ("my future queen", sayeth the Girl Child) and they were so shy they were somewhat struck dumb. The Crown Princess admired the Boy Child's Norwegian/American dual flag pin and told him that she had one of those at home, too. She seemed awfully nice. It was well worth meeting her, even if we had to drive to Queens, NY to do it. Never drive in Queens if you can avoid it. Enough said.
Now, back to work. Sorry about all the silence, by the way. Just overwhelmed and it won't get much better for some time, I fear.
Racism in the very young
There are certain statements out there that you hear again and again, so often that they sort of take on the status of truth. You never examine them for veracity, they just linger in the brush growth section of your mind and form part of the framework of your beliefs. For instance, fish is good for you. Or, racism is not ingrained but rather learned at home from the parents. I believed both of these things. Until now.
I no longer believe racism is learned at home and is not ingrained. That is too damn simple. My new theory is that racism springs from a childÂ’s dislike of looking or being different. At some very early point, kids donÂ’t like the idea of standing out. They donÂ’t like different. If something looks different or is outside of their little group norm-think, they have a tendency to shun it. ThatÂ’s my root cause explanation for why the Girl Child told me that she did not want to engage a particular baby sitter because that baby sitter was dark skinned. To be clear, there is no possible way that my children picked up negative attitudes about darker skinned people from me or my wife. We donÂ’t have them (as far as I know), we donÂ’t talk about attitudes like that, and we do our level best not to judge on appearance. We are particularly careful about what messages we transmit, overtly or quietly, to our children.
I took my little peanut aside after she confessed this and I told her that it was wrong for her to dislike the baby sitter because of the color of her skin. I told her that she didn’t even know the baby sitter and it was unacceptable for her to dislike her without knowing her. I told her that there were plenty of people in the world who I disliked but I disliked them for reasons wholly unrelated to their appearance and she too was allowed to dislike people, just not because of they way they looked. I reminder her of how unhappy she was when someone in her class called her the grinch because she did not celebrate Christmas and I told her that the situation there was identical to the situation here – someone judged her for reasons having nothing to do with who she was as a person. I then reminded her of an old exercise she did in her last pre-school where she made a list of all the things about her that people could not tell about her just by looking at her (which I blogged about in January 2005). I told her that the point of that was just to look below the surface and not judge based on the appearance. It is completely ok to judge other people, I told her, but it has to be done on a valid basis and the color of another’s skin is not a valid basis.
She seemed to take it all in. She also assured me that no one had been telling her that darker skinned people were bad. I wanted to rule out comments from classmates.
My wife and I were mystified by this turn of events and what could have given rise to it. So, I am sure it is just because of her becoming more and more aware of the world around her.
I didnÂ’t tell her, to my wifeÂ’s relief, that the world is primarily populated by ass-hats and color is simply not a good predictor of another personÂ’s ass-hat level. Politics, on the other hand. . .
By the way, I still basically think fish is good for you, all that shite about mercury to one side. Although, I do note that with all the fish I have eaten, I am better at predicting the ambient room temperature. So maybe it is the mercury.
Seriously, I hope I handled that one ok. I never saw it coming.
1
Yes it's a great shock when you realize that a child's environment isn't nearly as important as we were taught in class, isn't it?
I still remember being completely shocked when my little girl wanted to act, well...like a little girl. I was so careful about making sure all things were equal when it came to gender issues. Really, I was quite the militant feminist back then, at least compared to how I am now. I didn't want any gender prejudices to affect her in any way. And when the boy came along, same thing; I was shocked to discover that despite being so very careful about anything violent never reaching him, I had full care of him, he was not allowed to watch TV unless I supervised and trust me, it was only Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers, both kids were extremely protected at all times and yet, they both still made all kinds of decisions that simply shocked me. The girl wanted to dress up and play with dolls and have a play-kitchen set and the boy was rough and tumble and had a penchant for bopping other toddlers in the head with a toy if he felt provoked.
I finally caved in and gave up on my cherished idea that a child raised in a certain way will behave that way because they wouldn't know anything different, right?
Wrong. There is instinct, genetics, and tribal-behavior.
It's not just environment, this idea we were taught (well, I was taught but college was a long time ago, perhaps it's different today) that babies were mostly soft clay waiting to be molded is *wrong*. Environment simply does not have the kind of impact we were taught it has. I've seen kids from horrible family situations grow up to be calm, decent, wonderful human beings and I've watched kids grow up in a family filled with love and nothing but opportunity into mean-spirited little monsters.
I think we parents are scared to death of this idea because it takes away what we think is absolute control over our child's destiny. But that is a lie; we do not have that kind of control, we never did. We are merely caretakers until they are grown. We do the best we can but they are still individuals with their own unique way of looking at the world.
This is why kids can be so damn cruel growing up. And some kids never outgrow that. I like to tell myself that my two grown "kids" are good people because their dad and I raised them so well but although that is part of it, it's also simply luck of the draw. They came pre-programmed to a certain extent; probably because genetically their dad and I are that way and most of their ancestors are as well. Most of us are nice people with good work ethics who try to do the right thing by our fellow man.
Though not all, not by a long shot. Quite a few bad apples here and there in our combined family trees. And that's why genetics scares the hell out of people; we'd much MUCH rather say that it's all due to environment. What parent wants to believe that sometimes despite your best efforts, there is nothing you can do in some cases? Nobody wants to believe that.
Anyway, sorry to ramble. Sounds like you did the DadJob perfectly, Random. As always.
And don't worry; your little ones sound awesome. Good genes, I'd say. *grins*
Posted by: Amber at January 30, 2007 02:11 PM (zQE5D)
2
I think the best thing is that you told her it's ok to dislike someone. No, really, I think that's a great thing. I'm sick of all this "you gotta love everyone" BS because it's just not possible. There are people in this world I can't stand and nothing is going to make me like them. Nothing. Therefore, I think telling GC that she doesn't have to like everyone is a good thing.
However, like you said, not liking them because of their skin color isn't a good reason.
Posted by: Howard at January 31, 2007 03:29 PM (u2JaN)
3
You handled it, as always, with grace and aplomb.
I'm in total agreement with Howard, too, for the record.
Posted by: Margi at February 03, 2007 11:49 PM (4b9SY)
4
Excellent job, RP. And get used to being blindsided. This is just the beginning of of lifetime of 'not seeing that coming.'
My son came home from day school many years ago when he was in JK and announced that he "wasn't going to play with Jason." When I asked him why I was totally floored when he replied,"because he has a black face." Well no, he didn't...he was the product of a marriage between a lovely Japanese mother and a Jewish father, but that wasn't the point.
I remember thinking - where is this coming from? We certainly haven't taught him to think this way. And we finally had to come to the conclusion that he'd decided all by himself that this boy's face made him feel uncomfortable because it was different from his own or any that he saw on a regular basis. Of course, within a month they became 'best' friends, because four year olds are like that. And I think six year olds are, too once they get over their initial shock that their comfort zone has been challenged.
Posted by: Jocelyn at February 04, 2007 01:34 AM (bwFKZ)
5
Songs re hatred:
So interesting. I guess it gives the lie to the South Pacific song: You've Got to be Taught:
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
=======================
Instead, I believe with you that you have to be taught to be tolerant, all the old saws about judging a book by its cover.
There's a song written for children, shortly after WW II by Hy Zaret who died this week at the age of 99.
As I remember it goes like this:
You can get good milk from a brown-skin cow,
The color of its skin doesn't matter nohow.
Ha ha ho, can't you see
The color of her skin doesn't matter to me!
=====================
This type of song plus stories in the same vein would seem to be necessary to raise open-hearted children.
Posted by: Fortunella at August 05, 2007 07:00 PM (utg0X)
New York: Weird but Wonderful
I drove into New York City this morning from the darkest corners of Coastal Connecticut. I was on the FDR at just about 9:15 and I was passing the corner of the FDR and about 120th or 125th street. There he was. A man standing on the corner. He was wearing a faded blue sweatshirt and a blue knitted watch cap of almost identical hue. It was 25 degrees without the wind. And he was just standing there. Well, not just standing there. He was holding something. He was holding an orange in each hand. He also had an orange in his mouth.
That would have been odd enough, I suppose. But it wasn't all.
He, while holding the two oranges with arms akimbo and the third orange crammed into his mouth, was also balancing what I think was a quarter of a watermelon on his head, rind side down on his cap, of course.
I cannot decide. It was either a protest against the war, a protest about low wages given to farm workers, or a protest about the coming rise in citrus prices due to the freeze in California. Or, it was art and he was commenting on man's inhumanity to man.
I love New York. Life here can be so surreal sometimes.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at January 27, 2007 09:56 PM (Z3kjO)
2
Or he was walking back from the market, had all the fruit in his hands because the sack had broken and was just waiting for the light to change---whilst regretting that he hadn't double bagged.
But you're right: that's not nearly as interesting.
Although, it sure beats having the Grannies for Peace hanging around. Much more visually stimulating.
Posted by: Kathy at January 27, 2007 11:07 PM (o9gi3)
Literacy is a beautiful thing
Especially when demonstrated by your six year old daughter. The Girl Child, not even 100 days into her kindergarten experience, attended shabbat celebrations with us at the Boy Child's preschool, where we were the shabbat family for his class. The celebration was all very nice, of course. The highlight, and all I may ever remember from this, was the Girl Child, sitting in front of the Boy Child's class of 15 children, reading a story to his classmates. She sat there and read to them. I swelled with pride and I risk becoming a bore as I share this with everyone I know.
The Viking Bride has quit her job
She resigned her position as vice president yesterday and accepted the offer of employment as full time mother, care giver, and general all around boss. Her boss cried when she accepted her resignation and told her that not only would the door always be open, but that if my wife's position had been filled by the time my wife wanted to return to work, the boss would fire someone to make a spot for my wife. That is about the nicest thing she could have said, isn't it?
So, we are going forward without the benefit of my wife's generous paycheck and dental benefits. How bad can it be? Don't answer that.
1
Best of luck to you guys RP.
For what it's worth, I think you're making a great decision.
The missus and I are in the process of trying to eliminate as much debit as possible so by the time our second hatchling comes around in a year or two she can do the same, if she still wants to.
Posted by: phin at January 25, 2007 02:05 PM (4GJQa)
2
Wow, that is some exit interview. That should make you both feel good in that this decision doesn't have to be forever if you decide to change your minds.
At least this is something you've had time to decide; my husband was laid off several years ago - and did not work for a YEAR - shortly after our first child was born. Years later, and I still need Dr. Phil's help to work through the mess (none of it financial, surprisingly) that made.
You will be fine!
Posted by: Monica C. at January 25, 2007 02:07 PM (PKru1)
3
Have you ever thought of hiring a Mannie? The dogs and I are a package deal, though.
You'll do fine with the Viking Bride acting as Captain of the ship.
Posted by: Howard at January 25, 2007 03:39 PM (u2JaN)
4
Wow--that's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. Best of luck. It'll be fun adjusting in the meanwhile, but it'll sort itself out in the long run.
Posted by: Kathy at January 25, 2007 11:19 PM (o9gi3)
5
Actually, I'm surprised you all haven't considered an au pair. My cousin has had one for the last two years because she needed extreme help with her special needs twins. They have worked out extremely well and not felt like the imposition she was fearing. They're also not terribly more expensive than really good child care. The up front cost is the biggest factor.
That said, I hope that things work out just as they are meant to for you all. Try not to let the freaking out cloud your senses about this. It will be fine.
Posted by: Linda at January 26, 2007 10:50 AM (m5/BN)
6
Best wishes with the change. I'm sure there will be both good days and bad ones, but the job is one that is necessary and important even though it doesn't always feel too rewarding.
Posted by: Jordana at January 28, 2007 10:27 PM (ECPOw)
)> 
My son came home from day school many years ago when he was in JK and announced that he "wasn't going to play with Jason." When I asked him why I was totally floored when he replied,"because he has a black face." Well no, he didn't...he was the product of a marriage between a lovely Japanese mother and a Jewish father, but that wasn't the point.
I remember thinking - where is this coming from? We certainly haven't taught him to think this way. And we finally had to come to the conclusion that he'd decided all by himself that this boy's face made him feel uncomfortable because it was different from his own or any that he saw on a regular basis. Of course, within a month they became 'best' friends, because four year olds are like that. And I think six year olds are, too once they get over their initial shock that their comfort zone has been challenged. 
