The twelve-year old has decided to take after his old man.
But does he decide to do this by eating his vegetables?
Nope.
Does it decide to do it by taking over mowing the lawn?
Hah!
Does he decide to do it by becoming a Mets fan?
Don't make him laugh. He's too smart for that. He's sticking with the Cardinals and that's that.
No, he decides to be a chip off the old block by becoming a blogger.
There's a new blog in town, folks. Oliver Mannion.
Funny, I didn't know his name was Oliver. I thought we had him christened some name that began with the letter J. No wonder he never answers when we call him to come set the table. Anywho, Oliver's plan is alternate reviews of his favorite computer games with his thoughts and observations on one kid's life. Here's the link to his welcoming post.
Please go on over and say hi to the kid.
By the way, he's expecting this link and he's expecting it to prove that I have as many readers as I claim to have, so please click through a couple of dozen times or my authority around here, what little I have, will be completely undermined and I'll never get him to eat his vegetables. You want that on your conscience? A twelve year old with a Vitamin B deficiency?
I shouldn't have been surprised-- someone else must read them after all-- but I'm delighted to see that your family enjoys the Freddy the Pig series. I've been touting them for years, but for some reason the notion of books about talking animals is off-putting to most of the parents I know. They don't know what they are missing.
Posted by: Bill Altreuter | Monday, June 16, 2008 at 04:15 PM
vegetables aren't a great source of B, but I'll give it a shot.
Posted by: julia | Monday, June 16, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Julia,
They're not? Then, nevermind the kid, why should I bother eating them????
Bill,
I'm glad to hear you're a fan of Freddy's. He's been a literary hero in this house for years and years. I should write a post about him and the other residents of the Bean Farm.
Posted by: Lance | Monday, June 16, 2008 at 04:47 PM
"You have to be crazy to be a blogger."
Already dispensing pearls of wisdom!
Posted by: Campaspe | Monday, June 16, 2008 at 06:42 PM
At 12, you're old enough to reject vegetables with impunity.
Posted by: lina | Monday, June 16, 2008 at 07:32 PM
Thrid thing, is that I am a terrible speller.
I smell a rat here...
Posted by: actor212 | Monday, June 16, 2008 at 08:47 PM
I went over and said hi. And even recommended him some books.
Posted by: Shayera | Monday, June 16, 2008 at 09:39 PM
Oh, LANCE. You're watching crappy remakes of Cheaper by the Dozen instead of the real thing? You're breaking my heart. Are you completely abdicating your parental responsibilities?? What would the Siren say?
Posted by: Karen | Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 03:30 AM
Stopped by Oliver's blog. I have a 12 year old as well... currently reading the Percy Jackson books. Great ones they are.
But when I read that he was interested in history, and guessing that you live up around New York somewheres, and perhaps the Catskills, I thought I'd tell you about the Alan Eckert books. If you don't know of them already.
He wrote about the expansion of the whites into the Indian territories by telling both sides of the story. Meticulously researched from interviews taken shortly after the fact - The Draper Papers at the University of Wisconsin, never transcribed.
His first was The Frontiersman, written about the Ohio, Kentucky times. With it's success he went back in time and started up in the Northeast and came west with a series of books. The northeast one is called Wilderness Empire. Amazingly good history written in a narrative style.
Posted by: Ed D. | Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 09:13 AM
Ed,
Those sound like books I would like! I'll pass along the recommendation.
Karen,
I prefer to think of what we're doing is teaching them to appreciate the comic genius of Steve Martin in preparation for showing them Roxanne and All of Me.
Actually, Family Movie Night here is all about fun and we all get a say in what movies we watch. Oliver picked the movies the last couple of weeks. The guys get their education in the art of film other times, like when Oliver and I watched King of California together and when the teenager and I stay up late to watch great Westerns.
Posted by: Lance | Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 02:55 PM