Just Like Mom?
One of the things that drove Red crazy growing up was when our mother asked everyone questions. Lots and lots of questions. But that was due to the fact that Red was a quiet, unassuming child who disliked attention of any sort. However, as she grew up, she realized how else do you find answers? Black, on the other hand, rarely asks personal questions, figuring if you want her to know something, you'll volunteer it. But, that doesn't mean she doesn't ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. (WARNING! Her favorite one is, "Why?")
Send Us Your Questions!
We'd love to say that as soon as we get a question, we'll drop everything and post an answer. (Especially since Red gets very excited to see them arrive in her inbox.) But who are we kidding? That's never going to happen. But you get it! All of us have more things on our "to do" lists than time to get it all done.
So, here's our plan … Signup for Red & Black in your inbox on the "sticky bar" at the bottom of this page, as that's who we invite to submit questions to Red, Black, or both of us. We promise to read your questions almost immediately, and to respond to those questions we think will be of most interest to our followers. Plus, we promise to post our answers as soon as we can!
OK, we’re “milking” this … My grandmother mentioned having a milkman. Did you have one?
Red assets.rebelmouse.io |
Funny you
should ask, as I was recently getting ready for a
garage sale of our mom’s things and came across an old metal carrying
basket that I think is for milk bottles.
Although my memory of our
milkman
is that he left the milk bottles in a small rectangular metal box outside our
front door.
Anyway, my best memory of fresh milk, especially chocolate milk, was going to Dairy Barn with our dad. It was a drive-through; we’d return the old bottles, get our deposit back, and pick up new ones. I have to admit that when my mom started to get milk at our local Waldbaum’s (anyone growing up on Long Island will remember them) in paper cartons, I thought it was a little sad. Plus, I didn’t think the milk tasted as good. Recently, when I saw some old-fashioned milk bottles from 1836 Farms at my local Kroger, although it was more expensive, I bought one just because it reminded me of my youth. In fact, when I initially told Black I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend that much on milk, she suggested I could reuse the bottle as a vase. And it always makes me smile! |
Black assets.rebelmouse.io |
Since you mentioned your grandmother, which makes me feel
old, you may have to ask her to explain what we meant when we teased Red, a
redhead in a family of brunettes, of being the “
milkman’s
daughter
”. Looking back, “milkmen” and dairy delivery services were ahead of their time. They delivered milk as well as other dairy products, and seem to be a precursor to Instacart, Amazon Fresh , and all the food delivery services . Not to mention, it was a way to reuse the glass milk bottles (remember, this was decades before recycling was a “thing”). Regardless, when we taught at KIPP Houston High School , I asked our students if they had ever heard of a milkman. (Most had not.) And then (of course), I followed up with an assortment of other questions … Can jobs become obsolete? What creates new opportunities? Do you think there may be jobs in the future that no one has ever heard of yet? What can you do to be prepared? So, if nothing else, I hope the milkman makes you stop and think … |
My son's going off to college but doesn’t know what he wants to study ...
When we ran this question two years ago, Red’s daughter was starting college. Reviewing this, she says her answer remains the same. As does Black’s …
In a word, no! And
that comes from someone who knew what I wanted to study (theater), but even
though I graduated with honors, I proceeded to do absolutely nothing with
it. The good news is my daughter, who
seems to have
grown up in the
blink of an eye
, learned from my mistakes. She's going off to college in the fall, and I'd
love to share some of what was discussed at orientation last week.
It's funny because it was, in many ways, a recap of so many of Black's soapboxes, which I've come to understand, appreciate, and completely agree with. The primary message was that it's important to prepare students with skills, but how shaping them as individuals of character (one of my soapboxes ever since I read the book "A Question Of Character: A Life About John F. Kennedy" that, although written almost 25 years ago, may be even more relevant today) with the ability to think critically was even more important. Especially as we don't know what the future holds in terms of new (or changed, or even obsolete) careers. | |
Red and I had
very different approaches to college, and while she was the "better
student" in terms of grades, she looked at her college degree as the
objective. Whereas I saw college as a
step along the way, so approached it with a very different mindset and
perspective. I was open to learning new
things and exploring opportunities. And,
I focused as much on developing
soft skills as I did technical skills, as I recognized those
skills would always be necessary – both professionally and personally. I also realized that learning never ends and
now, at 60+ years old, am still committed to being a
lifelong learner.
More specifically, in terms of your son, college is an excellent opportunity for him to take classes that he thinks he might enjoy or even classes he has never been exposed to before. Plus, internships and volunteer work are great ways to get experience and help decide the direction he may want to go (or not go). Along the way, he should network as that, along with school counselors and professors, will help him gain insight into future career paths (and be valuable in other ways). |
Red assets.rebelmouse.io |
I have to
admit that I’d never heard the term “sportswashing”
until the surprising news about the potential (and controversial) merger of the
PGA and LIV Golf
(financed by Saudi Arabia). I closely followed
the PGA players and tournaments when I was growing up, so the articles about
the many players
feeling frustrated, confused, and ignored due to the humanitarian
aspects of supporting it got my attention.
Black helped me see, similar to greenwashing (another term I was completely clueless about), how sportswashing is a way to manipulate public perceptions. It’s a “look here, forget that,” so it’s not surprising that a country like Saudi Arabia, with its history of human rights abuse, not to mention connection to 9/11, would use it. Being a history buff, it immediately made me think about Nazi Germany hosting the 1936 Olympics as a propaganda tool to pose as a “good” nation. (Funny thing about that is American Jesse Owens, who was black and won four gold medals, contradicted Hitler’s theory of Aryans being the superior race.) |
Black assets.rebelmouse.io |
It is
ironic. Sports are supposedly about fair
play, competition, and athletic excellence. Just think about the word sportsmanship.
On the other hand, politics often
involves power struggles, ideological conflicts, and controversial situations,
such as human rights abuse. Using one to
divert attention from the other, even if it goes
back to ancient times, does not make it right.
So, why does it continue to happen? Follow the money. Sports is big business. International competitions may appear to be about image and world prestige, but they are also big business. And, some athletes are willing to ignore political issues in exchange for money (sounds like they are selling their souls). |