Back when our family unit was my wife, my son, and me we had a cozy apartment in Offenbach, Germany, a short walk from (actually a hike up the hill to) Bieberer Stadion where the Offenbach Kickers played football (US translation=soccer) in the second division. It was a long time ago (the Kickers are now somewhere in the 4th Division, somehow, in a recently-constructed multi-million Euros stadium.
Our son's 39th (YIPES!) Birthday earlier this week reminded me of a story (and I have no idea how our children have gotten to such ages. The pictures in the hallway between the kitchen and the living room have them just starting school so I'll have to talk with my wife about how much we're feeding them and how often, I guess.)
Anyway. My recollection is all we had at that time was Patrick. We had a color television in our living room and Patrick had a small screen black and white TV that Oma and Opa had gotten for him at Neckermann (I think) and that in a very short time, he'd grown less than enchanted with, requesting from us that we think about getting him a color television like we had in the living room.
As I had learned in Dad School, I sat him down and offered him one of my 'back when I was your age' stories that, for me, at least, was both endlessly fascinating and also true about how as a child all we had in our house was a black and white television in the living room.
Patrick listened to my tale of childhood deprivation and astutely asked, 'were you bad?' because all we had was a black and white TV. And when I explained I wasn't being punished but, rather, when I was his age all there was black and white television, he shook his head in disbelief so violently I thought he'd sprain his neck.
I hope, should he come across these noodlings today that he has a neck brace at the ready because this right here is a terrible but true snapshot of the way we were. And I'm betting Roger and Pete grow more nervous by the day about that long-ago wish; if it helps, me, too.
-bill kenny
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