[+] A Confession... [+] And Hope for the Future February 22, 1996. 11:08pm, EST Dad, I have a confession. When I was a kid I would sneak into your bedroom when Mom and Nany were not around to rifle through your collection of magazines and paperbacks. You kept them in a brown grocery bag. Magazines were on the top and paperbacks were on the bottom. I remember I would rifle through them to see what was new, and then I would grab one and head back to my room. Some of it was pretty crass. Some of it was quite educational. All of it was a hell of a lot more interesting than the four volume Life Cycle Library that you and Mom got for me. I'm 26 years old, now. I guess that if you stereotype me by age, I'd be part of the Generation X. I went to college and got the useless degree in Creative Writing. When I graduated I started a computer consulting company (did I ever thank you for the Timex/Sinclair when I was in 6th grade?). I now have people who are older than you who proudly work with me. I haven't lived at home since I went to college (yeah, and I promise we'll have dinner together, soon. It's been too long), and the IRS thinks of me as one of their favorite contributors. Dad, I guess that what I am trying to say is, simply, I don't think I turned out half bad! You and Mom and Nany made sure of that. We were never rich, and I remember you working the night shift at Montgomery Ward's in Manassas in order to buy me that extra Christmas present that I just had to have. You taught me about strength and order and what was right and wrong. Mom taught me about shades of grey and never taking the easy answer. Nany taught me about thinking around problems and what life was like during the hard times (like the Depression). The magazines and books didn't shape who I am. You did. Now, I must admit. Every once in a while, I'll peruse the Internet for X-rated material. In some ways, it reminds me of a big-virtual-brown-bag-under-the-bed. Some of it turns my stomach. Some of it is a turn-on. If I ever have children, I will try to protect them from the evils of society. I'll shield them from cruelty and exploitation. I'll try to bring them up in a responsible manner. But, I'm not perfect. I know that they will one day find a Brown Bag. It will become a part of their education... a part of their growing experience. But, if I do my job right, then I know that they will make me proud. I know that I will not be able to protect them from all evil, but if I teach them good values and self-respect, then they will have a fighting chance. Just like I did. No amount of legislation would have made a good surrogate for you. Thank You. Your Son, David C. Blankenhorn President Smoke N' Mirrors, Inc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send me your email comments. Pro or con! I will be compiling any feedback and making it available off of this page. If you would like me to include a link to your essay, include yhe URL in your email. If you would like me to include your email address so people can respond, then indicate that somewhere in your message. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to respond! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Continue Along the Essay Chain: [Prev| Next| Another Next| Index] 22 February, 1996. David C. Blankenhorn. Herndon VA USA --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to Kernel Panic's Home Page 24 Hours of Democracy Go to AOL's 24 Hours of Democracy Philippe Kahn's essay World Wide Power & Light Page Server Bill Gate's essay --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ************************* ] This page was brought to you by: [ [ Net Jammer ] ]NETJAMMER.COM A Division of Smoke N' Mirrors, Inc., © 1995, 1996 Smoke N' Mirrors, Inc. [ ************************* ]