In which I embrace snobbery
- 08.15.11
- Identity, Standards
- No Comments
I’ve admitted in the past that I’m a snob, and that only becomes more true the longer I’m a parent. It wasn’t always so. Years ago, I had a girlfriend who, it turned out, bitterly resented what she described as my ability to walk into a room full of people and make an immediate social […]
That’s right. I’m an old bastard
- 03.01.11
- Aging, Identity
- No Comments
At Walmart, this morning, I wheeled my cart up to check-out and noticed that, of the … oh …. fifteen? … eighteen? … checkout registers, exactly one was open. There’s a line, of course, because people have an odd habit, during daylight hours, of wanting to buy stuff at places where there’s stuff to be […]
Our father who ain’t in heaven
- 09.28.10
- Identity, religion
- No Comments
We live in an overwhelmingly religious area. It’s not buckle-on-the-Bible-belt religious — there’s a lot more tolerance than that. But there’s a certain assumption that everybody’s generally with the god-and-church program. That program is a general monotheism in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and anybody in the ballpark gets a pass. The only time I’ve ever seen […]
Which tribe are you?
- 08.30.10
- Identity, tribalism
- No Comments
I’ve written before about the tribal impulse among people. By that I mean the tendency to flock with those like ourselves and to turn — sometimes savagely — against the “other” that threatens our alike-hood. Well, I’m as susceptible to tribalism as the next person, provided the next person is also as much at home […]
Acceptance — the latest stage of being a dad
- 06.29.10
- Fatherhood, Identity
- 1 Comment
I think the biggest hurdle I’ve faced in becoming a stay-at-home dad has nothing to do with the home-based responsibilities themselves — actually, I prefer teaching my kid to read, baking bread, cooking dinner, fixing toys and even repairing the roof to deadlines, meetings and exhortations to be a “team player” (when employed, I’m not […]
Moms vs. guys who happen to be dads
- 06.25.10
- Fatherhood, Identity, loss of identity
- 3 Comments
It happens every time. An old female friend finds you on Facebook and asks to friend you. With fond memories (or, maybe, really fond memories) you happily oblige. The first thing you do is head to her photos, hoping to dig out a bikini shot or two to relive the past, or vicariously enjoy what […]