Slow Sunday morning at Old and in the Way
The Editorial Desk was unoccupied this morning when I got up so I thought I’d drop in and see what their blotter for the week.
Headlines from the papers
Being to lazy to actually come with my own content, I’m reserved this morning, to commenting on the work of others. All the while nursing my homemade latte, which BTW I’m getting really really good at making thanks to what has to be approaching 10,000 hours of practice making them for my bride every weekend morning. I’tell’ya’what, I’d make someone one helluva domestic partner just for my lattes, BBQ chicken and salted potatoes alone.
BTW- Before we get to far along in our day, ole Sank is rock’n the house today, this old fat ass has caught him a trend wave so early you can’t even see the beach yet. Check this out.
Yeah. Brooklyn BABY.When it comes to the NBA, I do rock. Thank you.
“Middle class trading ‘I do’ for ‘maybe later’”.
The latest installment in a series in the Star Tribune about the ongoing changes in America’s middle class. According to the article there’s a statistically significant population of women, and a few men thrown in for good measure, who are deciding to have kids and start families, only without necessarily waiting for marriage to do it. My initial assumption was that this may be a rise in unmarried couples with kids, something that while uncommon, wasn’t unheard off even in my youth, the post Height-Ashbury generation of former hippies who moved in with the “old lady” and introduced me to the term “common-law wife”. Common law wife was a cool term. Helped me learn about “common law” which up to then I had no exposure too.
Precedent… has something to do with precedent I think.
Anyway, my assumptions were wrong. In this case these women are just having the kids, sans partner. The article cites a disclaimer “we aren’t anti-marriage or anti-men”, it’s just that, and this was mentioned in every example through out the article, these ladies just haven’t found men they want to spend their lives with or whom the feel comfortable having a commitment with.
Fascinating.
So, if I follow your logic and I’m a big fan of logic, you can’t quite come to commitment status on a life partner but you are ok just dropping a few kids. Call me old fashioned but I’m pretty sure someone, somewhere is missing a point on something. Then again, if this trend continues I will be highly amused to lived in a society where the only married people are same sex couples, who seem to be the only folks clamoring at the nuptial door these days.
And sorority girls.. I think they’re still all over marriage.
Which reminds me, here’s how to have fun and get asked to leave a grad party you didn’t want go to anyway. When overhearing a college girl telling her parents friends about her sorority and that they don’t have a house, chime in “well where do you film those pillow fight videos than?”
Read that again?
Another interesting headline from the Star Tribune this morning, on back of the sports page, the weekly Outdoor column which I read religiously because at one time I enjoyed the outdoors, now I enjoy nothing. “Kids and Guns, a winning combination.”
The article talked about trap shooting in high schools. Not on the grounds folks, but trap shooting teams. Apparently, at our local skeet club, the Minneapolis Gun Club in Lakeville, there were recently 350 kids out for a meet, which is big numbers. Next spring 900 kids will be on the line competing in the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League.
Actually, I love the idea of more kids getting out shooting and enjoying the outdoors. Hunting may die in a generation or two if we don’t get youngsters interested in the sport and out in the fields and up the blinds. Too much urban middle class Yuppie influence in you ask me. That and misguided morons like Alicia Silverstone and Mickey Rourke supporting PETA.
Fishing, and hunting for that matter, builds strong families. Simply does. Generations enjoy hanging out together, people get a better understanding of where food comes from and, we wouldn’t have any of the conservation movements today that protect habitat if it weren’t for strong organized hunting groups. Hunters get the joke that you have to protect the environment to enjoy the outdoors.
Back to the headline, which did effectively get me to read the article, I would suggest another, maybe a blog posting. “Killing wild things makes stronger families.” Hmm I’ll have to think about that.
Useless Information
Seems that the entire country is affected with ADD these days. There’s just no other way to explain why my news on the internetwebsthingie is being constantly served up in lists. Lots of lists. This morning I was hit with “10 Great Jobs for People over 50”. Well, I almost broke a nail trying get to that one. I’m almost as close as to 50 as a person can be and still have a “4” in the tens column.
What sorts of jobs should I be looking at as I enter the Five Oh…
Okay I don’t know who the person was that wrote this list, but clearly, and I use this term for the third time today and it’s not even 9:00am- they are morons. ‘tards as my good friend Dr. Andersen used to say when he was directing a program for mentally disabled adults in California. When he first took his job, he told me that as he was moving into his big director office at the place, he opened his desk and found a folded Post It note on which was written what turned out to be a very prophetic message from an unknown source, probably the previous director. In very elegant script it said to words
“Fear Retards”
He keeps in this wallet to this day and will tell you that it’s a shame that the word “retard” which so perfectly describes a large percentage of the people you and I meet every day has been usurped by folks wanting to demean the mentally disabled.
I admittedly use the word more than I should because like the F-Bombski, for certain situations it’s just perfect. For example to describe the person who listed as the best jobs for people over 50 as:
- CEO
- Physician
- Psychologist
- Physicist
- School principal
- Senior Administrator
Don’t you just wanna ask WTF are you thinking sometimes? I surprised POTUS, Senator and Heiress didn’t make the list.
Pretty sure some 20 something retard pulled the stats from a Labor Department report with jobs and average age indexed and from that decided to make what has to be the most useless news story of the 2012 summer season.
On the other hand, maybe CEO would be interesting for my next career change. I’ll work on those applications this afternoon.
Isn’t CEO often a polite name for ‘tard?
Ken, your wisdom is showing.
Thanks, Sank, for the Mpls Star Trib article mention and your shout-out to MN High School Trap and Skeet Teams! Your timing is impeccable as per usual! My better half is the proud coach of the Tartan High School (North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale Schools) Trap and Skeet Team. And is doing so pro bono, I might add, until the MSHSL accepts Trap and Skeet Teams statewide into the MSHSL. Today, actually, he is at the MN State High School Trap and Skeet Meet in Alexandria, MN, among 59 state teams. Tartan is expected to take home 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place today, as they have been seeded in the top 3 all season. As your blog eludes to, the kids and their parents are a GREAT group. Go Titans! Shout-out from CAwd!
P.S. And by the way, I laughed out loud at your grad party story, since I myself had earlier inquired as to whether or not there was any “hella” good food worth sticking around for – so regarding your pillow fight comment – omg Sank, you DIDN’T, did you???
I did indeed
Are you still married?
If you were in the 30-something dating scene you would understand why the ladies are deciding “f-it” and having kids on their own. It’s not a committment problem – it’s a problem of a lot of men not growing up these days until they hit 40, combined with the fact that it starts getting dangerous for us ladies to give birth at age 35. It’s easier to raise a kid on your own until you find the right match than it is to raise a kid AND a husband. I’m married myself, but my heart goes out to my girlfriends who are still trying to find a partner who isn’t a total emotional retard.
As a shitty husband and father I get what youre saying. My wife has long suffered and would agree.
Based on how you write about your family (with love, even if annoyed or making fun), I would have to disagree with your self-assessment! : )