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Month: August 2017

Alice Roosevelt Longfellow & my Daughter, on her Fourth Birthday

Alice Roosevelt Longfellow & my Daughter, on her Fourth Birthday

Have you ever heard of Alice Roosevelt Longworth? She was the only Daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt and his first wife Alice. She was stubborn, defiant rebellious and deviously intelligent. Teddy once caught her smoking, “You are forbidden from smoking under my roof!” Hours later, he found her smoking . . .on top of the Roof. She is credited with the phrase “If you can’t say something good about someone, come sit right here by me.” In an era where…

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It was the Best Lousy Summer

It was the Best Lousy Summer

It was strawberry season, Annie brought eighty pounds of strawberries home and we waited. Friends showed up, then more friends, then family appeared. Together we sat around an outdoor table and hulled all of those strawberries so that Annie could turn them all into a variety of different gourmet jams. We celebrated our accomplishments afterward with slow cooked pork sandwiches and cocktails. I slipped away during a lull in the conversation to look out at the empty lot next to…

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Resolving Conflicts…When No One is Innocent

Resolving Conflicts…When No One is Innocent

“Daddy?” “What’s up Hun?” I replied as I stirred her oatmeal. “Reg and I were playing restaurant, I was trying to show her how to carry a plate and she didn’t want to do it that way.” “Well, perhaps you should let her carry it her own way.” “She did it wrong! And then she got mad at me and pushed everything off the table!” I put down the spoon, I put both hands on the kitchen counter and counted…

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Rules For Dating My Daughter

Rules For Dating My Daughter

One thing that consistently irks me is the time-honored convention of Dads being clueless bumbling buffoons. The perception is beginning to die off, but it still pops up every now and then. I suppose it’s time for me to address another one: The hyper protective boy-hating Dad of a Daughter. This image has appeared on my time line many times over the years. In the beginning I would just roll my eyes and continue scrolling. But each time, I found…

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