Father’s Day reminds us to recall dad

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 21 June 2011 14:19

It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was. —Anne Sexton

 

y daddy can pick up six cars with his pinky.”

“Well…my daddy can pick up Jupiter with one finger.”

My daughter and a friend were having an impassioned discussion about whose dad is stronger until they were offered a chocolate malt and their minds wandered toward the ice cream, which is, I believe, a natural progression. The subject was quickly dropped and a winner was never declared.

The girls were on a post-Father’s Day high and their daddies were foremost on their minds. That’s the value of Father’s Day. It reminds us to remember, because on the off days that we’re not pitting our own family members against someone else’s...

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Do we over-worry about our kids?

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 07 June 2011 13:27

When I really worry about something, I don’t just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don’t go. I’m too worried to go. I don’t want to interrupt my worrying to go. —J.D. Salinger, “Catcher in the Rye”

I’ve come to the conclusion that we, as in those of us who are now raising kids from 0 to 18, are the first generation of parents to chronically beat ourselves up over every trivial thing about those kids.

Except for maybe three or four generations ago, the first settlers in “these parts,” were walking in head-high grass to stake a piece of ground. I imagine they had issues of their own to work through, leaving the threat of structured playtime and cyber bullying for...

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Declining to burrow into my ache

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 24 May 2011 14:53

“I can choose pieces of my life in which to puzzle together, even if I can’t design the shape of the pieces”—Sarah Mae, likeawarmcupofcoffee.com

 

The culprit, a headache. In this corner, my bed with Midol Complete, multi-symptom. And in this corner, my push lawn mower with iPod, Maroon 5.

I’m all for wonder drugs (FDA approved and in safe doses, kids). The Bayer Co. has my perpetual gratitude and loyalty because Midol, the queen of over-the-counter meds, rarely lets me down. But this time it didn’t make a dent. So I willed myself into my shoes, started the mower and cranked my iPod way too high for someone with a headache.

I don’t know if I can thank the smell of the fresh cut grass, the morning breeze, or Adam...

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Keeping it real is the write way to go

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 10 May 2011 15:46

“For writers who knowingly lie, for those who substitute unbelievable human behavior for the way people really act, I have nothing but contempt. Bad writing is more than a matter of…fault observation; bad writing usually arises from a stubborn refusal to tell stories about what people actually do—to face the face, let’s say, that murderers sometimes help old ladies cross the street. —Stephen King, “On Writing”

 

The “nine old men,” named by Mr. Walt Disney, were the original animators at the Walt Disney Co. I was watching a documentary on Pixar, which talked about its history with the Disney Co.

The technology that transformed the original animation of Mickey Mouse into today’s animation of Nemo is beyond my...

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