Father of the Year

I pride myself in my ability to embarrass my teenage son. It's a skill I picked up from my own father, who was a master.

But neither Dad nor I are in the same league as the Jedi Master of all fathers.

You must read about the exploits of Utah's Dale Price.

I feel like I'm not even worthy to write his name. I tip my cap to you, sir.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This week's column is called "The Hidden Advantages of Having a Dog".

You can read it here.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This week's is called "Birthday Party Failure".

You can read it here.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column. This one is about my old neighborhood when I was a boy.

You can read it here.

Chicago Headline Club

A few months ago my editor at Shore Magazine and NWI Parent, Pat Colander, sent me an e-mail saying that she had nominated me for the awards that the Chicago Headline Club hands out to Chicago journalists every year. She said I would be in the category called "affiliated blogs," which basically means blogs that are affiliated with Chicago-area newspapers. (My Father Knows Nothing blog is affiliated with the NWI Times.)

To be honest, I didn't think anything of it. I just thought it was nice that she thought highly enough of me to submit my work. I didn't think I would be taken seriously by an organization of journalists. I didn't even know that she was referring to the Peter Lisagor Awards, which are pretty prestigious in the journalism community.

So, since I do follow the media pretty closely, I read all about the Lisagor awards this week. I even noticed that Roger Ebert won one in the affiliated blogs category. But I had no idea that I was in that same category, because I didn't know that these were the awards I was nominated for.

It turns out that not only was I nominated, I was named a finalist to Roger Ebert. (I found that out reading Pat's Shore Magazine blog about the event.)

I even e-mailed Pat to make sure I wasn't seeing things, or misinterpreting them, but holy crap, no--it's actually true. She said she would have invited me to the event, but didn't realize I was a finalist until she got there.

Now I'll grant you finishing second place to Roger Ebert is kind of like finishing second to UCLA back in the 1960s--you never really had a chance anyway, so don't get all high and mighty Mr. second rate pipsqueak--but still, I have to admit...this is pretty cool.

Thank you Chicago Headline Club, and thanks to my boys for being entertaining enough to write a column about every week.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at NWI Parent. This one is a tribute to this year's Mother's Day.

You can read it here.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This week's is called "Birds of a Feather" and it's about the strange coincidence I've discovered about people that share my last name.

You can read it here.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column. This week's is called "Lent is Over! (I mean "Happy Easter!")

You can read it here.

Earth Day

My youngest son Sean pointed out to me that this year Earth Day and Good Friday are on the same day. He thinks that this is bad planning by God, who Sean points out, is in charge of both the Earth and Good Friday.

"He should spread these things out a little bit," Sean opined.

I'm sure God appreciates Sean's solid marketing advice.

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column has been posted at NWI Parent. This week's column is about the single-minded obsession of my youngest son. It's called "Letters from Sean."

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at NWI Parent. This one is called "Loopholes" and it's about the sneaky tricks kids pull to get their parents to say a word they almost never say--"Yes".

You can read it here.

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column has been posted at NWI Parent. This week's edition updates my progress (or lack of progress) during my self-inflicted Extreme Lent.

You can read it here.

Boy Genius

My oldest boy Tommy is ridiculously bright. He taught himself to read when he was 2 (that's him in the photo, around the age he started to read). His IQ is way up there (much higher than mine). But it's important to remain humble, and Tommy is, because he has discovered that no matter how smart you are, there's always somebody smarter. Tommy thinks his best friend is smarter than he is, and he very well may be.

And this boy is smarter too.

Way smarter. Very, very impressive kid.

The description of what that boy was like when he was even younger is something that every parent of a bright child should read. It sure brought back memories for me. These kids are so different when they are really young; there isn't a parent alive that wouldn't be completely freaked out by it. But it does get better, and often it's those things that make them different (and in some cases...really, really different) that develop into the things that make them special.

They'll never be normal or typical, and it's the parent's job to realize that and adjust. Not the kid's. Sounds to me like his parents are doing a very good job of that. I give them credit because I know how hard that can be. Tommy is 15 now, and we're still struggling with it.

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column has been posted. This one is called "When you make a threat..."

You can read it here.

Father Knows Nothing

This week's Father Knows Nothing column has been posted. It's an update about how "Extreme Lent" has been going for me.

You can read it here.