Our Manor Farm

I was engrossed in BitchPhD’s extended post on parenting this morning. While I have no children (that I know of) I am very interested in the topics of childcare, parenting, and well you know – society. Growing up I can remember American friends… other children.. being frequently required to take all kinds of omoxocylines and some tetra-chloro-phoro watchamacallits. It seemed like the second anyone sneezed there was a parent dragging them off to the doctor. I know that is sometimes necessary, and only shows how caring the parents in my town were, but I really feel there’s a dark side to all that. The over-protective, excessively careful parenting styles, I think, have a long term effect on society’s children, not only when it comes to them growing up to love their claratins and their prozacs, but also in terms of life decisions, those that might require risks! Those risks could be professional, emotional, or anything!

But let me shift down to second gear for a second, and tell a secondary story my dear m?e tells about my childhood:

I was and still am a notorious car sleeper. I can stay up all night on normal dry land. But put me in a car, turn on the engine, and my body falls into slumber mode. Such was true even as a toddler. And so like any loving mother who wishes to see her child sleep happy and also get some of her long-list of tasks done, on occasion she might leave me sleeping in the car, parked in the driveway in plain sight of the front door. Well, on one such occasion, I must of been dreaming of my future career as a Taekwondo Instructor (technically I still am certified as one) and I hook-kicked the auto-transmission into reverse I guess, and slowly cruised to the end of the driveway, with the car’s tail sticking-out into the street. Not a busy neighborhood mind you, a picturesque tree lined one, those who would see the car would easily drive around it. My mom was naturally horrified at the time, but now adays we can sit back and joke about my first driving experience. (In your face 8 year olds that brag about holding the wheel!)

Thing is, increasingly in the United States, and perhaps Canada (im not sure) this type of thing is not only culturally frowned upon, it’s probably a jailable offence. If the wrong neighbor sees, I might have to kiss my family goodbye! Now I’m not singing the praises of libertarianism, or the good’ol days, nor am I denouncing important Child Care services, at least I don’t intend to. I’m just worrying out loud. I think we need to control our fears, stop trying to control every single detail of life, and moreover, our harsh judgments of one another – especially as parents. Guess that last sentence looks lame, I have no offspring to speak of.

Totally different note, watched Animal Farm last night. YES, the odd 1999 TV version with Patrick Stewart as a pig and Kaiser Soze’s associate, Kobayashi, as farmer Jones. I love this version.. there, I admitted it. I kept waiting for the Jean-Luc Piccard pig to suddenly say “Captains log.. startdate bingy-bongy.. we’ve taken the farm to warp speed, and I played in my own filth today.” After the first 10 minutes you get over the fact that animals mouths are moving like humans, and you get back to the essence of it. I know Orwell Wrote it as an example/critique of the Russian Revolution, but I can’t help but see some familiar themes in society today: laws changing in the middle of the night, people being pacified through entertainment (TV in Animal Farm), and blindly following the leader who says he is the only one who can keep them safe from terrorists. Orwell was a genius who still helps us understand the present-day world and its mistakes. I just wish the animals would hurry up and take over, before things get any worse. Oh, and why aren’t there any cats on animal farm?

Today’s Sounds: G. Love – Electric Mile