I'll admit it - I thoroughly enjoyed raising my two children. While they were very young it was fun to watch all the milestones such as first solid food, first tooth, first word. Of course, now with the distance of years since that time, it's easy to forget the other part of those days ... the nighttime feedings, the illnesses, the crying, and all of those dirty diapers! Of course I wouldn't have exchanged it for anything, as that is just part of enjoying little kids ... isn't it?
But then I discovered ... grandchildren! Or in my case (so far) ... grandsons - twin grandsons. Two new children in the family - and my wife didn't have the "inconvenience" of being pregnant or giving birth. I didn't have to put up with the "fun" of the personality changes of her being pregnant. We did wait through the night when they were born, but naturally, that was the fun part.
Their first year we got to see so many of their firsts, such as their first holiday (Halloween), their first New Year's Eve, and all of the developmental firsts such as the first smile ... times two!!! And while a diaper or two was changed, the bulk of that fell to their parents. Yes there was the drool, spit-up and all those fun things, but when they happened, all we had to do was hand them back to mom and/or dad. Ahh the perks of being a grandparent. And of course, we get to spoil them rotten.
At seventeen months old now, they are much more like little boys than babies, and quite a bit more interactive. When one looks into my phone case and looks at me and says, "Hi?", I know he wants to know where my phone is - one of his favorite things to play with. And how much fun is it watching the other twin trying to figure out some new feature of one of his toys? And though they are twins - albeit fraternal as opposed to identical - their personalities are so different from each other in every manner ... from what they like to eat, to how they like to play, and how they interact with other people. Be careful, or Sean will hustle you with a game of pool!
But this is such a fun age because they are constantly surprising you. New vocabulary - although the ubiquitous "NO!" has already become a regular part of how they will answer questions.
As the saying goes, if I knew that grandchildren were so much fun, I would have had them first.
When Disneyland was less than a decade old, my grandfather and my aunts became the first in our family to visit. I remember one of my aunts saying upon their return that Disneyland wasn't for kids. What she meant was that this is not a park with just amusement park rides for the kids and nothing else. After all, wasn't that Walt's purpose for building Disneyland in the first place?
But at what age should you bring a young child to one of the (now multiple) Disney Parks? Is there such as thing as too young to bring a child?
I have heard both sides of this argument, and there are points on both sides, but I think it really depends more on the individual child than any set and fast rule.
Many people would argue against it saying that if the child is too young they will not remember it. That is certainly true, but is it important to be remembered? Again, it depends. If going to a Disney Park will be a once in a lifetime event, then most certainly you should wait until the child is old enough to not only enjoy him/herself in the moment, but be able to remember it for years to come.
However, if you know that this will be just the first of many trips, why not let a young child enjoy the experience. But then you have to ask, how old are we talking about? Again you have to know your child, as well as your own tolerance for the extra care they will require. Is your child used to traveling and being in public situations, or will the theme park atmosphere overwhelm your child? Will your child be able to enjoy the characters and the atmosphere, or will it scare him/her? These are things you need to ask yourself before you consider when to bring (or not bring) them to a Disney Park. Remember also that if your child is having a melt-down, not only may it disrupt your day in the park, but the day of other guests as well.
But if your child is comfortable and happy in new situations and can handle the hubbub of a theme park with thousands of people, loud sounds and music, then why not bring them and allow them to enjoy themselves? They may be of an age where they will not remember their first visit, but they can certainly enjoy the experience as it happens.
Had it not been raining on the day my wife and I visited in 1979, my daughter would have made her first visit at 7 months old. As it turned out, she made her first visit at 4 years of age, while my son was 2 years during that same visit ... his first as well. Neither of them remember that trip, but we have been back many times since then. (Boy is that an understatement!)
Last August, my son - now the father of twins - and my daughter-in-law took those twins to Walt Disney World for their first trip. They were 10 months old at the time. They experienced attractions, parades, and food that they hadn't before. Did they enjoy themselves? You tell me ...
And no, this will not be their only trip ... they will be heading back this August as well.
The very first birthday present I can remember was a hard covered book. It was a Hardy Boys mystery, and the first hard covered book I ever had that was my own. To this day I remember the feel of the book, and the pages, and the sound it made the first time I opened it. And above all, I remember the smell. Each time I was to receive another Hardy Boys book, these would continue to be my first impression.
When I was 13, one of the presents I received was a gift certificate to Brentano's - a bookstore in Manhattan. These were the days before the big chain bookstores, and going in to Manhattan to go to a fancy bookstore was a big deal. I didn't know what kind of book I would come out with, but the thrill of going through the shelves, looking for that special selection that I would spend my gift certificate on was a joy in itself. I eventually found a volume of Sholem Aleichem stories - in a beautifully bound book - which became mine. I loved holding that book and all of the sensory thrills of my earlier Hardy Boys books were amplified in this piece of art.
Yes, I love the feel of a beautifully bound book, and appreciate it for what it is. So does that mean that I am one of those who regard e-books and their necessary readers to be the end of civilization as we know it? No!
I am proud to say that I am a Kindle owner and wouldn't give it up. I love the convenience of having a device which is lightweight and portable, from which I can read my choice of hundreds or thousands of books depending on my mood at the moment. When I finish a book on my Kindle and there is another book in the series, or a different book from that author that I want to read, I can purchase it immediately, on the spot, and be reading it right away. I don't have to wait until I can go to a brick and mortar bookstore, by which time I may have lost the desire to read said book - or simply forgotten about it.
And while most e-books are less expensive than their printed edition, there are also sources of free ebooks available on the web right now. Sites such as Project Gutenberg allow any e-book reader to download free books to put on their device. And you are not restricted to any particular company to buy books from, including the one from which you bought your device.
I love the fact that when I am traveling, I can have an entire assortment of books with me, all in one single device that hardly takes up any room in my suitcase or carry-on.
Does this mean that I no longer treasure printed books? By no means. For me, those beautifully bound books will always be something to be appreciated, but the Kindle takes the place of all of those cheap paperback books that I used to travel with. They have always been something to read to fill up some time for me, not in the same league of fine editions on my bookshelf. And I love to re-read many of those paperbacks, but can never find them when I want. My Kindle solves that problem - they are now always right at my fingertips.
So what do you think? Do you have an e-reader? If so, which one? If not, would you consider purchasing one? Why? Why not?
Today, March 5 holds significance to me in two ways.
Firstly, March 5, 1966 was the day of my Bar-Mitzvah. The day in the Jewish religion on which I became a man.
But even more exciting was March 5, 1977. It was on that day that I had a telephone conversation with the President of the United States.
The president at the time was Jimmy Carter who had taken office on January 20 of that year. One of the things that he said he would do is hold regular radio call in programs, in which anyone could call in and ask him a question. The first one would be held on CBS radio on March 5, 1977.
Like most Americans, I thought about what question I would ask him, given the opportunity. I had one. Chip Carter, the president's son, was caught with marijuana in the White House. If given the opportunity, I would ask about that and the possible legalization of marijuana. But what were the chances of me getting through? Schools had set up phone banks to try to get through. Millions and millions of people would be dialing the phones in an attempt to ask the President a question. In fact, 9.5 million people would receive a recording that the lines were busy, and no one know how many millions couldn't even get through to that recording.
On the morning of March 5th, my wife was taking a shower (I already had) and our friend Cindy would be visiting for the day. About 1:00 PM - an hour before the call-in show was to begin - I picked up the phone to call the number, expecting to receive nothing but a busy signal. Of course, that is exactly what happened. I tried again with the same results. One more try and then I would give up feeling that I gave it a try but just couldn't get through.
And then it happened ... the phone started ringing! Before I knew it I was speaking with a CBS network screener at the White House! I was asked my name and phone number, as the procedure was that they would call each selected participant moments before they were to be on the air with the president. This way they knew who they had on the line. I was informed that I would be among the first called towards the beginning of the show. By being selected, I discovered that no one else in New York State could now get through.
When I told Sandy that I was going to be on, she asked what my question would be. I told her and she told me I couldn't ask that, as she expected hate mail and the like to follow. So here I was about to talk with the president, and I didn't have a question.
To make matters worse, network TV news crews started showing up at my apartment. I had better not make a fool of myself and searched for a question. I turned to the NY Daily News where on the back page was a headline about the (hated!) NY Yankees possibly being allowed to play an exhibition game in Cuba. I would ask about the continuing Cuban embargo using the Yankees as the hook.
Just before the show began, I got a call back and was told to stay on the line - I would be the third caller. Was I nervous? Hell yeah! When I was in college, I had a radio show, and by listening to tapes of my show each week, I managed to make my voice more controlled when I was on the air. As you can hear on the video below, all of that went out of the window once I was introduced (by Walter Cronkite) to the president. Forty-two of us spoke to our president that afternoon.
Once done, the interviews all began, and being in New York City, there is a lot of media to deal with. On the train the next day, all the newspapers looking back at me ... were me!
When I returned to work on Monday, I found John Tesh and his crew waiting to interview me and my colleagues. The interviews continued for about a week, with me being interviewed by the newspapers, national magazines, as well as New York City radio and morning TV shows. On Tuesday I went on jury duty, and the judge in the first courtroom I was called into called me aside to ask if I were indeed the one who spoke with the president.
The next weekend I was downtown shopping with my wife, and while I was waiting for her at one point, a woman stopped me to ask if I was the one who spoke with the president, and then asked me to sign an autograph for her!! Before I finished there was a line of people waiting for an autograph. I can guarantee that no one had any idea who I was or why people were asking for my autograph.
Oh, and remember my original question which I didn't ask because Sandy was afraid I would get hate mail? Well you should have seen the hate mail and death threats I received over the course of the next month! I didn't tell Sandy about those for many years afterwards.
And that was the one and only time that a president sat for a live call-in program. Jimmy Carter never made it a regular feature of his presidency and no other president attempted it.
In the NY Daily news article about my phone call they quote me as saying that if the Yankees do play an exhibition game in Cuba that "I hope the Yankees win." Come on now ... anyone who knows me knows that those words would never cross my lips! So much for ever trusting the press any more.
But then I discovered ... grandchildren! Or in my case (so far) ... grandsons - twin grandsons. Two new children in the family - and my wife didn't have the "inconvenience" of being pregnant or giving birth. I didn't have to put up with the "fun" of the personality changes of her being pregnant. We did wait through the night when they were born, but naturally, that was the fun part.
At seventeen months old now, they are much more like little boys than babies, and quite a bit more interactive. When one looks into my phone case and looks at me and says, "Hi?", I know he wants to know where my phone is - one of his favorite things to play with. And how much fun is it watching the other twin trying to figure out some new feature of one of his toys? And though they are twins - albeit fraternal as opposed to identical - their personalities are so different from each other in every manner ... from what they like to eat, to how they like to play, and how they interact with other people. Be careful, or Sean will hustle you with a game of pool!
