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The Bravery of Kids

As someone who has stood in boardrooms and conferences and spoken on topics where my expertise ranged from extensive to non-existent, I can sympathize with those who fear public speaking. I've often thought that it takes a certain level of distain for the audience in order to calm those fears. How wrong I was in that notion. While that attitude may work for some, I've discovered what really makes for a good public presentation. Bravery... where you acknowledge your fear and do your job anyway... is what it takes. Preparation, confidence, being able to read an audience, all of these things are important and necessary, but bravery will get you through like nothing else. I had the opportunity to videotape an elementary school talent show recently, and as with all events of this caliber, one can see them in a variety of ways. You can view it as a "celebration of mediocrity", or you can find the beauty in the simplicity of it. I’ve run a few of these shows when my
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The Ad Dad

Advertisers know who buys stuff. I don’t know the exact percentage, but I’m pretty sure that women handle most of the purchasing in our culture. What makes me say that? Just look at the ads. Whenever you see an ad on TV that features a family element, (food and travel are real stand-outs here), it’s always the Dad who is the knucklehead, the clown or the hapless loser. Mom sweeps in to put right whatever he has destroyed or messed up, usually with that look of knowing wisdom that I saw on my mother’s face more often than I care to remember while growing up. Men are just big children, the ad seems to say, and women are the sensible ones. Right. Because men will buy six shirts, four pairs of pants and three pairs of shoes with the absolute certainty that most of this stuff is to be returned to the store. Men know that when you buy something on sale, even if you didn’t really want it, it’s still a bargain and you’ve saved money on it. And, men always flick through every piece
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Body Mass and You

BMI article In the district where my children go to school, a new rule was instituted a few years ago. They were to be weighed and their BMI, (Body Mass Index) was to be recorded. I was told by the school nurse, (a really nice woman with a long history of doing her job and doing it well), that the rule was required by the state, and it was little more than a formality. Which got me thinking. Could it be that, at the state level, someone was really, genuinely concerned about childhood obesity, and instituted this rule so as to gather data, and then do something about it? As much as I would like to believe that… uh, no. Sorry. Can’t. I know first-hand that the folks in charge of food service in our school district do care, and have instituted policies to help make the transition to healthier choices available to my kids. I know they are working hard to exceed the guidelines set forth for them by the state and federal government. There is still a long way to go, but they are wo
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