While I write many blogs and other types of content throughout the week, the Weekly Column is my weekly feature topic, which will also be the basis of my weekly radio show and #dadchat. Posted on Sunday night or Monday morning, they are a great way to start off your week with something to think about, as well as something to talk about.
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One of my favorite sayings about being a parent is that you must be your kid’s best parent, not their best friend. Far too many parents are concerned about being their kid’s buddy, being liked by their kids, and by their friends. Sure, it’s cool to be in the good graces of our children, but that is NOT our job. Our job is to educate, raise, and equip our children to live good and productive lives. Our job is not to be their entertainment director and master of good times.
Love this “Dating” vs. “Relationship” comic series – guess which is which?
I’m wading into dangerous waters with this column, but has that ever stopped me? This column is based on a very scientific study that I’ve conducted by observing the lives and behavior of four of my single friends; two men and two women. Of course this “study” is accurate but it may have a plus or minus error factor of 3%.
Titles are supposed to be the hook to a column, book, or movie. Maybe if this were a Spielberg movie starring Hugh Jackman, “Epiphany” would be a great title. I chose this title simply because it is what jarringly happened to me this past weekend, as again I’m writing my column on an airplane.
View from plane as we approached Dubai – all photos by Bruce Sallan
I am writing this column, again on a plane, two weeks after returning home from my incredible trip to 13 countries, 21 cities, in 38 days (mostly in India and Africa). I’m on a very short flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. It’s a piece of cake in comparison to the 17-hour flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta, Georgia, which was just one leg of my trip home. Heck, there’s only a one-hour time change. We were 10-12 hours ahead on the other trip.
All photos by Bruce Sallan
Going from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to various stops in India is about as stark a change as one can imagine. Dubai is a 42-year-new country with unlimited resources and a tiny (indigenous) population of 1 million, while India has been around since well before the birth of Christ and its 1.2 billion inhabitants account for 18% of the world’s human beings.
I’m currently sitting in a hotel room in New Orleans, on the 26th floor, where I’m attending a conference about and for dads. A disturbing dream woke me up in the dark of morning as I hear the sounds of train-horns in the distance and know the Mississippi River is lazing by in one direction and Bourbon Street is in the other direction.
My recent trip overseas resulted, as most such trips do, in many unexpected and enlightening experiences. It was an extraordinary adventure. What I truly did not expect was what happened back at home while we were gone.
All photos in this column by Bruce Sallan
I am sitting on a full flight, flying home from Johannesburg, South Africa to Atlanta, Georgia on the world’s longest non-stop flight at 17 hours, give or take. We have to go through Customs in Atlanta and then another flight to Los Angeles and my adventure will be over. I just finished watching “Rush,” the movie about the Formula One racing rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. It was powerful, but the baby won: the baby that has been crying for much of this flight.
