There’s NO heart in texting!

Posted on April 25, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

While walking with a friend, we were talking about how our kids use modern communication and social media in their lives He friend relayed the story of his 18-year-old high school senior asking a girl to be his prom date, via a text message! Fortunately for his son, she liked him a lot, and texted back “Yes.” In my opinion, there was no heart in this.

Later, when his son and date were making their plans, they discussed a good friend of his that was nervous about asking a particular girl as his date to the prom. He asked should he text her? The response was an immediate and emphatic, “NO!” Because there is NO heart in texting!

The Rabbi’s Message – by Rabbi Bryski

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

The following was sent to me via an e-mail by the extraordinary Rabbi Bryski of the Chabad of the Conejo. What a marvelous idea to compare Twitter to bigger meaning in our lives. Take a read:

Dear Bruce;
Until recently if you asked someone if they “twitter,” they’d probably give you a funny look. They might say, “What, do I look like, a bird?” Or they’d be insulted, because “twitter” meant “babble” – basically to yak nonsense. Come to think of it, maybe the definition still applies. ?

But twitter now has a new meaning. “Twitter” is the name of an online service that allows people to send out short messages called “Tweets.” They have some value – a kind of electronic news bulletin. Flash! Accident on the interstate. But “Tweets” have also upped the interaction level – one can follow a celebrity’s Tweets. Or you can build up your own following. Tweet about your walk from the car to the office.

Just A Guy Wondering Can He Trust His Teens With Social Media

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

Sexting, texting, e-mail, Twitter, MySpace, NetFlix, Facebook, formspring (not a mattress company), “smart” phones, iPads, iPods, laptops, etc. That’s the world our kids live in. And, it’s moving faster everyday! Can we trust our kids with social media?

For me, it was a library card, and a book, on a roller-skate, which my friends and I would use to go down the hill where we lived. Oh, we also played a made-up game we called “Mongoose,” in which we hit a ping pong ball back and forth with two books, the object being to do it as long as possible. We had a phone, but its use was limited. TV was only on weekends. And, there were just three networks and not much else.

That just ain’t the world no more! With the recent spat of texting related violent incidents, I’m beginning to question what boundaries we parents should consider for our kids, especially our teens, with these social media devices. My 16-year-old got into a mess of peer trouble with an impolitic facebook post. It was stupid, but not that big a deal. At my urging, he even publicly apologized (and in a well-written, not too self-deprecating fashion – I was impressed).

Just A Guy Who Loves His Kids the Way Everyone in the World Does!

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

I just returned from a magnificent trip to the Canary Islands, Morocco, and Portugal. Last year, I visited Africa on my honeymoon. Both trips were exotic, both trips had their highs and lows, and both trips taught me yet again the universality of parental love. I re-learned I’m just a guy who loves his kids more than he ever knew he could.

It doesn’t matter where you live, how much money you have, what you do for a living, we all care about our children. My kids worry about having the newest cell-phone, trendiest clothes, and other really important stuff while the kids in the medina in Fez, Morocco were worrying about selling their cart of cookies or looking for a hand-out (that they really needed).

Who Cares About a Clean House? My Wife Does!

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

So, what do my wife and I fight about? The big things like sex, money, and the kids? Nah, that would be too easy, too typical. We fight about a clean house including the dog-hair, where the dishes go, the vacuuming, wiping off the counters, folding the laundry, and the kid’s messy rooms. Oh, and making the bed with ALL those pillows!

I was a 24/7 single dad to my two boys and two dogs for several years. During those years, I lapsed in the area of clean house. There were more pressing things to deal with, in my opinion. Dating again, for one thing. And, more seriously, the emotional fall-out to my boys because of their (biological) mom abandoning them.

Just A Guy and Therapy

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

As if it hasn’t been while, I may make a tiny mistake. Consequently, my wife and I do go to a therapist, on that rare occasion I may make a minuscule gaff. Naturally, my wife flubs up several times – an hour.

Joking aside, we do have our “stuff,” a word that will forever be enshrined in my mind with the late, great George Carlin (google him and “stuff” if you’re soooo old as not to remember that famous routine of his). Maybe I’ll just provide it for you and save your lazy butt the effort? Should I? Okay, if you insist, here it is: George Carlin/Stuff.

Just A Guy Scared About His Son Having Sex

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

My 16-year-old son has a girlfriend, going on six months now and going strong. She’s terrific and so is her family. They seem locked at the hip and they’ve even managed to avoid the common mistake of “first love” by maintaining their existing friends and not drooling over each other ad nauseum.

However, they are holding hands all the time and even when I knock on my son’s door before entering, they’re often on his bed together, clearly enjoying each other’s company.

This Guy Talks Too Much!

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

I have a big mouth and I’ve even been described as a guy who talks too much. Anyone that knows me knows I’m highly opinionated and my family, in particular, lives with me both repeating myself and just droning on endlessly. It’s as if I don’t get an “Okay” or “Yeah, Dad” I assume my boys haven’t heard me.

Recently, I’ve begun a very stupid habit of complaining or voicing out loud issues between my wife and I, venting and expecting a sympathetic ear, to one or the other of my boys. I’m not voicing anything of a deeply personal nature but it is still inappropriate discussion for them to hear from their dad, about their stepmother. Like I said, this guy talks too much.