Writing a weekly column is good therapy. It helps keep the old ego sufficiently inflated while at the same time is humbling. As a published columnist, I see my job as writing to engage.
I want (and, remember it is all about me) readers to be emotionally engaged. I want them happy, sad or mad — and I want them so emotionally charged after reading they will take pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and share what they think. And, as one of the laziest, sit-on-your-duff guys in town, when readers write, I don’t have to.
Last week I brought back an old column on parenting and the phrase ‘shut up.? This past Saturday I noticed a message in my e-mail screaming at me. The subject was, ‘Shut Up!? Usually, this means one thing — I have whizzed somebody off. Gingerly, I opened the e-mail.
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Papa Don, Oh shut up!
I have a shut up story to tell, too. For whatever reason, I hated the ‘shut up? phrase and when I was raising my children it was a HUGE no-no to say. But, every now and then it would come out of the mouths of babes so I developed a long standing punishment for use of the shut up words.
We have two flights of stairs in our home, and depending on the child’s age he/she would have to do stair time. Five times up and down both flights for the little kid, 10 times up and down for the bigger kid, and for the child who got mouthy about it there were even more trips up and down the stairs. Most times, when the offending child slipped the words out, they would immediately hang their heads and go to the staircase on their own!
It was a great punishment being nonviolent and all – and the kids actually took it quite graciously most of the time – and it worked very very well. (Plus, manipulative mom managed to get the kids to exercise this way.) Our grown children don’t use the shut up words, their kids don’t say shut up, and we affectionately talk about the old stair case days.
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I thanked the reader/writer but didn’t ask permission to use, so I left it unnamed, but ran it because I think other parents may like this idea as much as me! I also received the following e-mail.
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Dear Mr. Rush, I don’t know if you live in the Clarkston area or if your column is picked up by many area papers, but I spent an interesting hour in the Sashabaw Middle School library here in Clarkston, last week while I was on a break from my guest teacher position that day. I had a chance to read your columns in several issues and found them entertaining and interesting. But the column on Freedom of the Press had a comment in it that really jolted my sensitivities and I would like to expand on that.
Your comment on the ‘frackin smackin? Czech Republic’s higher ranking (than the U.S) in the World Press Freedom Index was, I feel, an insult to the Czech people! Perhaps this was your attempt at humor, but it made me wonder if you were really aware of recent history of the Czech people since World War Two.
I am a native born American but am very proud of my Czech heritage. I grew up in a Czech American area west of Chicago, a child of first and second generation immigrants from Bohemia (Czech) areas. When I retired from teaching 30 years in East Detroit schools, I became very immersed in my heritage — have had research done to the 1600’s on my roots, am a founding member of two Czech American organizations in the Chicago area, and have visited the Czech Republic six times. I was there both during the Communist era, 1983, 1986 and then in 1994, 2005, 2006 and 2012 .
I saw and spoke with relatives and friends on how restrictive conditions were during that Communist era. I know how strongly the people; felt about Vaclav Havel languishing in prison for his beliefs. It was certainly no surprise to see him elected as President when the .Communist leadership was over.
To say the Czechs value the freedom of expression is an understatement!
Their memories of those 40 years are not lost upon them. Both in 1918 when their country was created after World War One (by combining of the Czechs and Slovaks with support from the U.S.). After years under Austrian Hungarian control it was something to be treasured — only to see the country to be controlled by Hitler during World War Two. Within a few years after 1945, they were then controlled by Russian led Communists for the next 40 years! One can see how the Czechs value the freedoms of speech and press!
Again, I am sure you didn’t mean to malign the Czech people, but your attempt at humor(?) didn’t resonate with me. Sincerely, Evelyn.
Evelyn, thank you for reading and working with kids. As a matter of fact, I spent much time in that exact same library. It was Sashabaw Junior High when I was there too many years ago. I have some very close friends of Czech descent in my life, some from Poland, Croatia and the Ukraine. My attempt was not to malign the Czechs, only Americans. We created the concept of press freedoms, and to fall so low is sad.
Thank you both for reading and feeling enough to write. Other opinions can be e-mailed to Don@ShermanPublications.org.