Children

50 Books Every Child (and Adult) Should Read

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For my money Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio is one of the most marvelous books ever written. Full of dry wit and dark humor, much of which is lost on children, the story is a developmental cautionary tale. For children the take-away is “see what happens when you don’t listen to your conscience” but for

RIP Art Clokey, Gumby’s Dad

I had the pleasure of meeting Art Cloakey quite a few years ago. He denied that Gumby advocated LSD and he seemed genuinely hurt by Eddie Murphy’s Saturday Night Live portrayal of the little clayboy. “Gumby is an ambassador for all that is good and innocent in the world,” Cloakey said. While Gumby himself brims

To Be a Good Parent, It Helps to Be a Slacker

Fitz Cahall of the most excellent Dirtbag Diaries, has a most excellent side project blog in connection with Steve Bohrer and Danny Maynor. Three dads working together to “keep the Stoke” through that long season we call parenthood. The Outdoor Parent is a different kind of blog…one that doesn’t tell you how to keep your

The Diaries of a Suburban Frontiersman

I can’t say for certain that Y Indian Guides made me any closer to my father. It did give us some shared experiences. At age 7 I was able to see my father use his amazing creative abilities. For examle, he taught me how to use the drill press so that we could put an