It was a crazy
moment. I don't usually go off half-cocked, but I made a decision and as a
result will end up in sexy hot Los Angeles California for three days.
No, I'm not
kidding. I bought my tickets already and I'm booked on an airplane. The deed is
done. My friend out there has been begging me to come visit her and I couldn't
because I had no money. I still have no money, but I have a credit card so I'm
going. I'll go out there and see all the nutsies, what do I care. It won't rub
off.
I never go
anywhere and was disappointed that the travel agent didn't make a big deal over
that I was going out to the Coast. She didn't say "Cool! Do it!" She buried her
nose in the Apollo computer and found me a deal. Her mumbling style was
infectious, and I was afraid she misheard my destination and my name. But when
I got the computer itinerary print-out it said Los Angeles
and my name was right. It showed I was actually going to go to Los Angeles. No
turning back! Non-refundable!
Last month we had a bit of a dust up down here in Texas when some
members of a Mormon splinter group called the Fundamentalist Latter Day
Saints were accused of sexual misconduct.
It seems that whenever a group of people in Texas close themselves
off from the rest of society and tries to worship in a way that is
regarded as weird or unconventional, the state government goes charging
in with the Texas Rangers, the ATF and a couple of S.W.A.T. teams to
spoil their fun.
Apparently, the State had several problems with what these people were up to at their compound.
First of all, the members of the FLDS are staunch polygamists whose
male members are allowed and even encouraged to take three or more
wives. The State had a problem with this I suspect largely because it
was jealous that the FLDS had been able to convince its women that this
was okay.
Whew! My ass is tired. Literally. My ass. No, I'm not getting over a bout of the stomach flu, I haven't had it kicked (lately) and to the best of my recollection, I have not logged any meaningful prison time lately. I have however, just completed my fourth driving trip across the country in as many weeks. I've a newfound respect for the six way adjustable seat and truck stop coffee. Seriously, what is in that tar? Ever wonder why these big rigs come barreling down on you literally pushing your car forward with the tsunami-like winds they are inducing only to watch them pull off at the very next exit you pass? It's the coffee. They're all hopped up on truck stop tar and are jonesing for the next quick fix. The buzz is only good for a few hundred miles and when it wears off--watch out. Don't get between a trucker and his vices. I'm just saying.
The next dad to come in for an interview is Jeremy Biser. Jeremy and I have something in common besides the fact that we are both stay-at-home dads; we both interview other dads, too! Two weeks ago I was featured in his Spotlight on Dads series for his Discovering Dad site. Last March we both met in the Dads Community on cre8Buzz.com , a new social networking site for bloggers, writers, photographers, entrepreneurs, sports enthusiasts, and many others. Here he is to tell you more about his life as a dad.
Taking on the commitment of an at-home dad is a
big decision. What factors contributed to your family’s decision?
The simple answer is that my wife, Lori, had a job
with more flexibility. When she got pregnant, we were both District Managers
working for incredible retail companies. Both of us made good money, and we
both loved our jobs. We both had good benefits, although hers was slightly
better with regard to paid leave and flex time. We didn't make a final decision
until a few months before our son Ty was born.
At the time, I had an opportunity to start a
part-time business and work mostly from home. It seemed logical to follow that
path - we could continue to have two incomes plus one of us at home with Ty. It
also made things easier and more flexible with getting my teenage daughter Chani
(from my first marriage, and she lives several states away from us). It was a
very logical progression, although I admit that I never thought I would be in
this role.
I severely underestimated the difficulty of being a
stay-at-home parent - it is the hardest yet most rewarding job that I've ever
had in my life.
How has the family adjusted to your new role?
The kids love it! Lori is definitely the nurturer,
while I’m the playmate and disciplinarian. I enjoy roughhousing with the kids
and doing fun activities with them throughout the day. We go for walks and to
the park to break things up, but I also teach them to play independently and to
be helpful in getting things done around the house.
When Lori isn’t traveling overnight for work, we
always try to eat dinner together as a family too. I think this time together
helps to keep us all connected. I have a lot of meetings and work commitments
at night after dinner, so it can be a challenge to find time for
everything.
We have routines, in which the kids get time with
both me and Lori, and we have found a way to make things work for
us.
What do you think is your best quality for your
job as the primary caregiver to your children?
I am good at math. Geometry, algebra, grocery
coupon math - I can handle them all without breaking a sweat. Hell, I was on the
slide rule team in high school. I know you have no idea what that is but believe
me, it was really cool. No girl was more popular than one with a foot-long
plastic mathematical device strapped to her belt loop. The cheerleaders wanted
to be me. Ah, those were the days.
But when it comes to car math, I just don't get
it. My husband and I bought a car yesterday and my brain is still reeling from
the confusion of it all. Or maybe from the gallon of Amaretto sours I had to
quaff to de-stress from the whole good cop/bad cop routine we had to put
on.
When people have
car trouble I have a good laugh to myself. Today our music writer is standing
around the office forlornly, waiting for someone to help him jump his car
battery. "I'd like to help, Pete," I say. "But I don't have my car down here
today." This is a half-truth. It's true that my car isn't downtown, but it's
not true that I'd like to help. The last time I tried to jump a car, in 1983,
the cables jumped out of my hands and started a small fire in a nearby pile of
leaves. My philosophy is, you leave car batteries alone, they'll leave you
alone. Electrocution or a facefull of battery acid is a mighty high price to
pay for helping Pete.
And that's my
entire car strategy. Let the car be, don't drive it around, don't touch it
even, and it won't give you any problems. It'll last for years. I plan on
keeping my Plymouth Champ around for a long time. It's a 1982 model that cost
$900. I've had it a year now, and I've driven it maybe ten times. I've got one
thin key for it, and that's all it needs. It's got an AM radio and a fan and a
sensitive braking and acceleration system-it's sensitive to you slamming your
foot down on the pedals to get any kind of results. It drives like a dream, if
your dreams shake and are noisy.
Graduation time is here. If it hasn't already happened for some, then
this is the big weekend. I'd like to extend congratulations to all and good luck in your hunt for a job, a college, even a new place to
stay! Every year around this time I'm reminded of a billboard I saw
while working in Tucson, Arizona. It said, "High School Around Your
Schedule! Get Your Diploma or GED on YOUR Time!" After seeing that, I
thought, if you don't have your high school diploma or your GED then
you don't have much of a schedule, do you? Unless it involves getting
up around noon, hitting what's left in the bong, finishing another
level of Halo 3, then going over to mom's house to visit your baby. By
the way, a few years ago Arizona was voted the 50th Smartest State in
the Union. Not the dumbest, but the least smartest! Pure apathy!
Last weekend I visited my mother who lives a mere 65 miles away from
me. In doing so, I had to drive past my old high school. Well, what a
surprise. There on the marquis was perhaps the best example of our
nation's "No Child Left Behind" education legislation. "CONGRATS
SENIORS 2008! SET YOUR GOAL AND ACHIVE IT!" Who knows? Maybe it was
baked potato day in the cafeteria and I failed to spot the pun. I
doubt it. My real guess is that the wrong person was asked to put
letters up that morning.
I don’t want to die; in fact the very idea that the world could
possibly go on without me is difficult for me to comprehend. Were I to
suddenly cease to exist, who would watch my T.V.? Who would annoy my
wife on a daily basis? Who would be able to tell the Greatest Dick
Jokes in the World?
I constantly speculate about the way I will eventually shuffle away my mortal coil.
I might be struck by lightning. No really. I’ve studied extensively
about it and whenever I’m outdoors when a rainstorm is approaching I
have the demeanor of a gazelle who has stopped at a watering hole for a
drink and thought she might have just heard a lion. I am wary and ready
to sprint at a moment’s notice.
I don't know of
anything in life worse than job hunting. Death, maybe. Junior high. Waiting
around in the auto title bureau. But for long range frustration you can't beat
job hunting. It's humiliating, dull, stressful, and frightening, and the end
result-landing a job-isn't so hot either.
I had to look
for work during the past several months. Pickings were slim. Each Sunday I
looked in the classified Help Wanted section of the newspaper for a position. I
looked under "E" for Editor. There were usually a few editor jobs around, but
for rocks and minerals magazines. I couldn't apply for a job writing and
editing articles about rocks and minerals. There were jobs for chemical editors,
as well. I can't feign interest in that stuff. I know someone's got to do it,
and not every rocks and minerals editor grew up dreaming of this kind of life.
"When I grow up I wanna be an editor at Cobalt
Age." Few of your schoolroom youngsters say this. I sure didn't. You didn't
see me at the school science fair, either. I can't figure out carbonation; how
could I write about zinc or bismuth?
A friend of mine decided to have her baby
underwater. Because apparently lying in a nice soft bed surrounded by people
whose job it is to wait on you isn't good enough for her.
On some level, the whole water birth makes sense
because the baby moves from one fluid-filled environment to another. But unless
you're delivering a mermaid (or merman), sooner of later, the kid is going to
have to find land legs. Although if you're hoping your child becomes the next
big Disney star, it probably wouldn't hurt to have some fins and flippers. And a
voice like Bobcat Goldthwaite.
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