Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday - June 30, 2009
It's been several days since I've been able to write. Several personal issues have raised their ugly heads and I had to take care of them first. But, I'm back, and we'll begin again.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday - June 24, 2009
You see? I told you we would make it to Wednesday. Now, just hold out for three more days and it's weekend fun for all.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday - June 23, 2009
Okay. It's only Tuesday. Just relax and we can get through this. If we can just make it to Wednesday, we'll be safe.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday - June 22, 2009
Monday. The dreaded first day of the workweek. The beginning of the long stretch to the weekend.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday - JUne 18, 2009
Okay people. Let's buck up. There's only one more day until the weekend... we can make it... just hang on, we can make it.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
June 17, 2009
Teenagers: What have we done to deserve this?
Is it just me, or are the teenagers today scarier than when we were fifteen? I seem to remember “please,” “thank you,” and respect for others to be a requirement when I was growing up. Today, teenagers seem to be able to talk to their parents with a level of disrespect that shouldn’t be cast on a dog.
I remember growing up, and my parents were horrified by my music, my clothes, and everything else I felt was the expression of “me.” But there was never a time when (outside of my vivid imagination) I disrespected them, at least not publically.
I’ve studied this sociological phenomenon and have come to what I feel is the only viable conclusion; it’s our own fault.
Who else can we blame for this? We’re the ones who allow them to run the streets without knowing where they are or when they’re going to be home. We’re the ones who didn’t give them the necessary guidance and discipline that our parents (at least the ones I grew up with) gave to us.
And we are the ones who, for whatever reason, can’t find the nerve to say “it’s my T.V. and I’ll tell you when and what you’re going to watch.”
Our lives have become so centered on our careers that we’ve neglected to teach the very values we desire our teenagers to adhere to.
I have a teenager. He’s the average sixteen-year-old going on thirty. Like all parents, I’m at a loss to explain where he got the vast knowledge of a lifetime in just sixteen years. He seems to know everything there is to know about everything there is to know. It’s amazing to me. I haven’t got that much knowledge or life experience and I’m in my fifties.
So where do we go from here? The “it’s too late” syndrome I keep hearing from other parents doesn’t work for me. I don’t think it’s too late. I think that if we snatch them back to reality and strap them down for a while, we might be able to repair some of the damage done by our past failure to be the parents.
First, we need to tell them who’s in charge. Now I’m sure some of you are now imagining your kid going berserk because you had the unmitigated gall to think you could actually control them. But, you have to get past that and be firm.
They need to know that we, the parents, are the ones who set the limits. Of course, if you set the limits too far in the teenager’s favor, then whatever happens is your own doing.
If they’re twelve years old, they need to be in the house by dark and, unless you live in Alaska, that’s about six o’clock. If they’re ten years old, they have no business going to a Metal, Grunge, or other concert with three of their friends who are the same age.
Second, when your teenager is talking to you like you’re dirt on their shoes, it’s always a good idea to remind them who bought the shoes. Unless your teen has a good job, pretty much all of their clothes, shoes, toys, computers, I-pods and assorted other out-of-pocket expenses they enjoy comes out of your pocket — not theirs. So, when they decide that they’re old enough to talk to you like an adult, remind them that they can get a job to replace all of the things that you just took from their room. (It’s only their room because YOU let them sleep there).
Third, you cannot possibly hope to win the battle by restricting them to wearing what they want only at home. But you can tell them that if they want to go out in public they will dress at least to a point where they don’t look like they’ve just been mugged. That doesn’t mean they have to give up the torn jeans, the Nirvana T-shirt with three holes in the back, or the tennis shoes that are held together by whatever. It just means that a bath and a good laundry are better than the alternative, right?
Finally, there are no greater teachers than experience and example. They should experience being fired from a job because they were too busy texting their friend to concentrate on the task at hand. They should experience rejection because they have green hair, black makeup, black fingernails — and they’re a boy. But better than that, they’ll get their greatest lessons from you.
If you drink at home in front of them with no concern for their image of you, don’t be horrified that they come home drunk as a skunk from the party they told you was a study session. If you do drugs at home in front of them with the idea that you’re an adult, they’re the kids, and they should do what you say — not what you do, don’t be surprised or shocked that they’re doing drugs. And, if you disrespect everyone, if you’re a bigot and racist, they’ll be just like you. Think about it.
Is it just me, or are the teenagers today scarier than when we were fifteen? I seem to remember “please,” “thank you,” and respect for others to be a requirement when I was growing up. Today, teenagers seem to be able to talk to their parents with a level of disrespect that shouldn’t be cast on a dog.
I remember growing up, and my parents were horrified by my music, my clothes, and everything else I felt was the expression of “me.” But there was never a time when (outside of my vivid imagination) I disrespected them, at least not publically.
I’ve studied this sociological phenomenon and have come to what I feel is the only viable conclusion; it’s our own fault.
Who else can we blame for this? We’re the ones who allow them to run the streets without knowing where they are or when they’re going to be home. We’re the ones who didn’t give them the necessary guidance and discipline that our parents (at least the ones I grew up with) gave to us.
And we are the ones who, for whatever reason, can’t find the nerve to say “it’s my T.V. and I’ll tell you when and what you’re going to watch.”
Our lives have become so centered on our careers that we’ve neglected to teach the very values we desire our teenagers to adhere to.
I have a teenager. He’s the average sixteen-year-old going on thirty. Like all parents, I’m at a loss to explain where he got the vast knowledge of a lifetime in just sixteen years. He seems to know everything there is to know about everything there is to know. It’s amazing to me. I haven’t got that much knowledge or life experience and I’m in my fifties.
So where do we go from here? The “it’s too late” syndrome I keep hearing from other parents doesn’t work for me. I don’t think it’s too late. I think that if we snatch them back to reality and strap them down for a while, we might be able to repair some of the damage done by our past failure to be the parents.
First, we need to tell them who’s in charge. Now I’m sure some of you are now imagining your kid going berserk because you had the unmitigated gall to think you could actually control them. But, you have to get past that and be firm.
They need to know that we, the parents, are the ones who set the limits. Of course, if you set the limits too far in the teenager’s favor, then whatever happens is your own doing.
If they’re twelve years old, they need to be in the house by dark and, unless you live in Alaska, that’s about six o’clock. If they’re ten years old, they have no business going to a Metal, Grunge, or other concert with three of their friends who are the same age.
Second, when your teenager is talking to you like you’re dirt on their shoes, it’s always a good idea to remind them who bought the shoes. Unless your teen has a good job, pretty much all of their clothes, shoes, toys, computers, I-pods and assorted other out-of-pocket expenses they enjoy comes out of your pocket — not theirs. So, when they decide that they’re old enough to talk to you like an adult, remind them that they can get a job to replace all of the things that you just took from their room. (It’s only their room because YOU let them sleep there).
Third, you cannot possibly hope to win the battle by restricting them to wearing what they want only at home. But you can tell them that if they want to go out in public they will dress at least to a point where they don’t look like they’ve just been mugged. That doesn’t mean they have to give up the torn jeans, the Nirvana T-shirt with three holes in the back, or the tennis shoes that are held together by whatever. It just means that a bath and a good laundry are better than the alternative, right?
Finally, there are no greater teachers than experience and example. They should experience being fired from a job because they were too busy texting their friend to concentrate on the task at hand. They should experience rejection because they have green hair, black makeup, black fingernails — and they’re a boy. But better than that, they’ll get their greatest lessons from you.
If you drink at home in front of them with no concern for their image of you, don’t be horrified that they come home drunk as a skunk from the party they told you was a study session. If you do drugs at home in front of them with the idea that you’re an adult, they’re the kids, and they should do what you say — not what you do, don’t be surprised or shocked that they’re doing drugs. And, if you disrespect everyone, if you’re a bigot and racist, they’ll be just like you. Think about it.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday - June 16, 2009
Wow. I've been so busy that I forgot to post Friday and Monday. I gotta get a life. Anyway, busy busy busy. Good Tuesday to all.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thursday - June 11, 2009
Here's a little tidbit I got in my e-mail this morning. I think it's perfect.
The window through which we look
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean," she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."
And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.
Very cool message, I think...
The window through which we look
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean," she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."
And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.
Very cool message, I think...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wednesday - June 10, 2009
Ahhhhh. It's Wednesday. The middle of the week. Halfway to the sanctuary of the weekend. Midway to the rest and relaxation of not having to toil at our regular jobs, only to work twice as hard at the chores we have neglected during the week.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tuesday - June 9, 2009
Tuesday is kind of a drag day. It's not Monday, thank God, but it's not Wednesday, which would mean the week was half over. It's just kind of there.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday - June 5, 2009
Here it is again. Friday. The end of the working week and the portal to the weekend.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wednesday - June 3, 2009
Ahhh. Wednesday. It's mid-week and I've finished my article for the Sac Press, I'm done with the extra writing I had to do, and my golf clubs are cleaned and bright. Guess where I'm going this afternoon.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tuesday - June 2, 2009
Do wishes really come true? I don't know, but a producer has contacted me about a book-to-movie project with my novel, "The Measure of a Man." I've checked his credentials and he's legit.
Now, if they buy off on the project, then I will believe that dreams can come true.
www.fdcrandallwriter.com
Now, if they buy off on the project, then I will believe that dreams can come true.
www.fdcrandallwriter.com
Monday, June 1, 2009
Monday - June 1, 2009
We’ve made it to another Monday, which means you have survived another weekend.
I start a workout regimen today. I’m 55 and I guess it’s time to get into shape. Of course, my doctor was instrumental in getting me into a gym, since I’m expanding in areas that weren’t there before.
Anyway. Time to get to it. Good Monday to all.
www.fdcrandallwriter.com
I start a workout regimen today. I’m 55 and I guess it’s time to get into shape. Of course, my doctor was instrumental in getting me into a gym, since I’m expanding in areas that weren’t there before.
Anyway. Time to get to it. Good Monday to all.
www.fdcrandallwriter.com
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