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{Straight From the Heart} *Frolicking with Crocs* 5/9/00
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Welcome to "Straight From the Heart!"
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If you hadn't figured it out yet, our email account was down the
past four days or so. Any subscription or unsubscription requests,
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But it is good to be back!!!!!
Michael & Kristi
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FROLICKING WITH CROCS
By: Joe Walker
So I'm sitting on my balcony, enjoying the circus being performed in the
courtyard below. Never mind that we don't have a balcony, much less a
courtyard. And we almost never have a circus in the yard (at least, not
since the last time Anita's brother brought his kids over). This was MY
dream. I can have a balcony, a courtyard and the entire Ringling family
in the yard if I want to.
For some reason, my 8-year-old son, Jon, wasn't sitting on the balcony
with the rest of us. He was down in the courtyard, along with the
crocodiles (no, we don't generally have crocodiles around, either -- but
then, it is an election year). Now, I don't know why I wasn't too
disturbed at seeing him frolicking with crocodiles. He seemed to be
having fun, and besides, there were only a couple of them. Everything
appeared to be under control, so I went back to watching the circus.
The next time I looked down there, however, the courtyard was crawling
with crocodiles. Huge ones, swarming all over the place. And I couldn't
see Jon. So of course, I freaked. I started running all over the place,
screaming out his name, asking everyone if they had seen him. No one
had. And they were all surprised that I had allowed him to play with the
crocs.
"They seemed harmless!" I explained.
"They're crocodiles," they said. "What did you expect?"
Needless to say, I was relieved to awaken from the dream. I hustled
upstairs to make sure Jon was safe -- without a crocodile in sight. I
chuckled as I padded back down the stairs.
"Crocodiles!" I laughed as I crawled back into bed. "Like I'm really
going to turn away from Jon while he's playing with . . . "
Suddenly, I remembered a conversation with my son that had taken place
just a few hours earlier. I was concentrating on a basketball game at
the time, so I may be fuzzy on some of the details. But I think it went
something like this:
Jon: "Dad, can I play on the internet for a while?"
Me: "Uh-huh."
Sure, I'm aware of how scary the internet can be. That's why I looked
in on him to see how he was doing. He seemed to be having fun, and
besides, he was on a pretty safe Web site. Everything appeared to be
under control, so I went back to watching the game.
Sound familiar?
It did to me, too. I shuddered as I considered the number of seemingly
harmless "crocodiles" I've allowed Jon to play with, largely
unsupervised. Video games. TV. Even the radio-tape-CD player we got
him for Christmas. Usually he makes good choices. But what happens when
he makes a bad choice, or stumbles onto something that he's not prepared
to handle? How do I help him interpret that inappropriate message or
avoid that disturbing image if I'm up on the balcony watching the circus
-- or the ball game -- while he's downstairs frolicking with crocs?
I can't. But here's what I can do. From now on, we're going to try to
keep those crocodiles at bay. I know I can't control everything that's
going on in the world around him, but I can control what's happening
within the walls of my own home. We can limit his access, monitor his
viewing and occasionally say "no." Hopefully, this will allow us to take
advantage of modern technology's positive possibilities while avoiding
its long, sharp teeth.
Which, it turns out, can be a real nightmare.
Joe Walker
Valuesguy@netscape.net
Email Joe and let him know what you thought of his story!
A little bit about Joe:
Joe Walker has been writing professionally since 1980, when he left
college to join the staff of a daily metropolitan newspaper. For 10
years -- including six as the paper's TV columnist and critic -- he was
part of the mainstream media, and was painfully aware of the
overwhelming negativity of contemporary journalism. Joe says, "Nobody
was looking for real solutions to the problems society was facing; they
were just looking for someone or something to blame the problems on." So
in 1990 Joe began writing ValueSpeak, a weekly syndicated column that
attempts to look at contemporary issues from the perspective of
traditional values. Joe and his wife wife, Anita, are parents of five
children, with their first grandchild due shortly.
You'll love his new book, "How Can you Mend a Broken
Spleen!"
Ordering is simple and fast at the following Amazon address:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573453005/heart
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573453005/heart
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Thought For The Day:
"A blind man who sees is better than a seeing man who is blind."
Verse for the Day:
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."
Matthew 13:16
Kid's Thought For The day:
"Little crayons still make bright marks."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"If men had babies, maternity leave would be in the bill of rights."
-Corky Sherwood Forest on Murphy Brown
Coach's Thought For The Day
"Success is how high you bounce after you hit bottom."
(General George S. Patton)
Deep Thought For The Day:
"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a
great fall. He had a pretty good winter, too."
_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Thunder27/index.html
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
Video Imagery (Michael's Video Production Business)
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we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty
seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was
the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such
a beautiful job! They were so suprised and so touched---they
really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so
special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for
the video too! Thanks again!"
Kelli (RKaGe@aol.com) College Station, TX
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