“Superhero in Training” in Main Line Today (August 2010). At 4 years old, my son has just one problem in life, and it plagues him night after night. Lying in bed, a never-ending debate runs through his mind over which superhero he should be when …
Read MoreThe parable of the koala bear
The three-year-old boy lay in bed with his baby brother, making him laugh with assorted smiles, funny faces, and noises. To add to the entertainment, he picked up a furry koala bear and raised it in front of his brother. The infant’s smile immediately vanished, …
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For the Love of the Ball
Fathers, sons, and lessons learned… “For the Love of the Ball” (Main Line Today, October 2009) Early on in my eldest son’s life, Michael decided he wanted to be a ballplayer when he grew up. Signs of his intended vocation came from the start. Instead …
Read MoreThanksgiving: An Eagle’s-Eye View
“Thanks for the memories” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (November 22, 2007). Thousands crowded the Ben Franklin Parkway to cheer the floats, bands and enormous balloons as they rolled, marched and floated past. I watched the scene unfold far below me, the mob miniature and the …
Read MoreFaith, freedom, and riding a bike
“Lessons of fatherhood, learned at play” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (June 15, 2007). It’s as cliched as they come, but my earliest memory of my father is when he taught me to ride a bike. The memory is a fitting one for a son, for …
Read MoreWhen the barber is your father
“Locks of Love” in Main Line Today (June 2005). Perhaps it’s a bit odd, but my brothers and I only ever had one barber: our father. Businessman by day, barber by night, Dad cut the hair of his seven sons like only a father can. …
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