Sun, 17 Jun 2007

Father's Day, 2007

Today I am a father. Actually, my kids would say Papa. Actually EVERY DAY I am a father. I consider it one of the most important things I do and am proud to count myself among the fathers of the world. My family isn't here this year. They're in Spain. So I am spending today alone. But, if anyone asked me what are you? I would still happily answer a dad.

But in the circle of life, I am also a son. My father is long dead, but his influence is in everything that I am. Raising adults is one of the most important things we do. Yes, I know most people refer to it as raising kids, but we really aren't raising kids. We don't want these young people to end up being kids. We want them to be adults. So in that case, we are raising adults. We are giving our children the firm foundation from which they will become responsible, successful adults.

My kids are well on their way. I miss them very much, but know that they are getting the experiences that will help them mature into the fine adults that I know I can be.

So to all you fathers out there stuggling to raise another generation of adults -- happy father's day!

posted 12:01 [/WhatAreYou] permanent link

Sunday Morning Television . . .

I'm normally not up very early on Sunday mornings and, even less frequently, turn on the television. By early, I mean before 6:00 AM (yeah, I know, but it has been hot and I haven't been sleeping much lately -- a different blog). I wanted to find some news, but rather than go directly to one of the local channels or CNN, I decided to click around and see what was available. I was struck by the number of paid programs at that hour. I really wonder how many people are watching at this hour. Let's say you get up early like me. Do you say, "Wow! I think I'll look for a better exercise machine or diet method or steam wrinkle remover". Or you are just ending your Saturday evening and you and your date decide to watch a little sales effort after a night of dancing . . . hmmm . . .

These programs are generally remakably silly. Does anyone really suppose that someone will sit for 30 minutes listening to a sales pitch? I suppose that these might be the same people who go to the state fair to see the mop salesmen. And I guess that you can take whatever form of entertainment you wish.

One other thing struck me. We have a cable service which displays the name of the program when you click to a new channel. Most say Paid Program, but others actually have a program title. This means that you might not realize that the program you are watching is a very long advertisement and sit and watch something thinking that it is a new or entertainment program. Not much chance for most of us since these programs are really inane and provide a real example of pressure sales.

Needless to day, I found some headline news and soon turned off the TV to sit here and write this early in the morning.

posted 06:21 [/Media] permanent link