Monday, September 21, 2009

My Kids' World

My kids are growing up in a world where:


  • It has always been possible to pause live TV
  • CD players are a thing of the past. (and what is a cassette tape?)
  • TV has always been in HD and widescreen.
  • Cash is used only for the smallest of purchases, such as a fountain soda or a pack of gum.
  • Tony Larussa has always been the manager of the Cardinals.
  • Online social networks are just another aspect of social life.
  • There never were WTC towers in NYC.
  • Video conferences across the globe are the norm. Nothing special about it at all.
  • It's not cool to smoke.
  • The Internet has always been around. More specifically, "web apps" have always been around.
  • It's cool to be bald.
  • There is a migration from the suburbs to the cities.
  • Phones with cords attached? Never heard of such a ridiculous thing!
  • Video games do not require imagination.
  • The Rams have never been in the playoffs.
  • High schools have always had metal detectors.
  • Google has always been a verb. And what's a googol?
  • Their dad has never had long hair. ;)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Explaining 9/11 to a 6-year-old

Wow. That was difficult. I didn't know what they would say at school, if anything. So I explained 9/11 to Joey today on the way to school this morning. I told him that on September 11, 2001, America was attacked. They ran airplanes into two large buildings as well as "the place where the Army lives," which killed "thousands of Americans."

I should state at this point that Joey is very patriotic. He's studying the USA in class this year. All year long actually. He understands what it means to attack America.

He then asked me who did it. This is a sensitive subject. I told him it was a group of people who hate America called Al Qaeda. I didn't say anything about Islam or the middle eastern countries, as he goes to school with a very large proportion of middle-easterners and Muslims and didn't want him to start thinking unfounded bad things about his classmates.

I asked him if he understood that this country is at war, and he said yes. I told him that was why we are at war, and I saw it click in his eyes.

Then he asked me a very difficult question. "Why did they do it?" After a brief pause all I could say to him was that Al Qaeda likes seeing Americans die.

It's also strange to think that kids who were only 10-years-old when 9/11 happened are now going over to Afghanistan to (hopefully) finish things off.

*sigh*

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Top 10 Reasons to Not Blog for a Month

10) Laziness
9) Nothing to write about
8) The children are healthy
7) Evony
6) Neverwinter Nights 2
5) Coitus
4) Is there really anybody out there?
3) George Bush
2) Barack Obama
1) FACEBOOK

More to come later. :)