Tag: kids giving respect to their elders

The Short and the Long of It

By Larry Teren

I recently read the biography of Dwayne Hickman. For those who don’t know who he is or it rings a bell but cannot place the name- he was the star of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis a, the television sitcom series from 1959-1962. Dwayne talked much about his relationship with the comedy writer genius Max Shulman. Shulman invented Dobie along with writing the play The Tender Trap (which became a Frank Sinatra starring movie), the novel “Rally Round the Flag, Boys!” (which became a Paul Newman movie) as well as provided the original story for House Calls (a Walter Matthau movie).                   Continue reading “The Short and the Long of It”

With Respect

As a kid, if I opened my mouth to an adult, I’d get a smack in the spot the words came out of. If that were to happen in today’s world, I’d be visiting the person who did it- even a parent- as they sat behind prison bars. Nowadays, when a kid says something adult-like, the parent smiles and says how cute and smart they are. Recently, while visiting at a friend’s house, his three year old daughter said to me, “you’re fat.” (ed. note: I’m not and I’m not rail thin. Like everyone else, I’m somewhere in the middle) Her father looked at her and said, “is that nice?” She replied, “I’m just kidding!” This from a three year old!
Continue reading “With Respect”