“When it comes to little girls, God the father has nothing on father, the god. It's an awesome responsibility.” Quote by Frank Pittman
“The most extraordinary thing about trying to piece together the missing links in the evolutionary story is that when you do find a missing link and put it in the story, you suddenly need all these other missing links to connect to the new discovery. The gaps and questions actually increase - it's extraordinary.” NeedsTryingStoriesTogetherPiecesMissingDiscoveryIncreaseExtraordinaryGapsLinksExtraordinary ThingsNew Discoveries Author:David Attenborough
“The problem is simply this: no one can feel like CEO of his or her life in the presence of the people who toilet trained her and spanked him when he was naughty. We may have become Masters of the Universe, accustomed to giving life and taking it away, casually ordering people into battle or out of their jobs . . . and yet we may still dirty our diapers at the sound of our mommy's whimper or our daddy's growl.” PeopleGivingFeelsMayStillsProblemJobsUniverseSoundMastersBattleDirtyCeoDaddyAccustomedToiletsNaughtyDiapers Author:Frank Pittman
“Parents can fail to cheer your successes as wildly as you expected, pointing out that you are sharing your Nobel Prize with a couple of other people, or that your Oscar was for supporting actress, not really for a starring role. More subtly, they can cheer your successes too wildly, forcing you into the awkward realization that your achievement of merely graduating or getting the promotion did not warrant the fireworks and brass band.” PeopleParentRolesFailingCoupleBandAchievementActressesExpectedRealizationPrizeCheerGraduatesAwkwardOscarsPointingPromotionNobelNobel PrizeWarrantsBrassFireworksBrass Bands Author:Frank Pittman
“Parents have subtle ways of humbling you, of reminding you of your origins, perhaps by showing up at the moment of your greatest glory and reminding you where you came from and demonstrating that you still have some of it between your toes.” WayStillsMomentsParentGlorySubtleToesRemindingHumblingShowing UpDemonstrating Author:Frank Pittman
“Parents vary in their sense of what would be suitable repayment for creating, sustaining, and tolerating you all those years, andwhat circumstances would be drastic enough for presenting the voucher. Obviously there is no repayment that would be sufficient . . . but the effort to call in the debt of life is too outrageous to be treated as anything other than a joke.” YearsEnoughWould BeLife IsParentEffortCircumstancesCreatingJokesDebtTreatedSufficientVaryOutrageousSuitablePresentingSustainingDrasticVouchersRepayment Author:Frank Pittman
“Some parents were awful back then and are awful still. The process of raising you didn't turn them into grown-ups. Parents who were clearly imperfect can be helpful to you. As you were trying to grow up despite their fumbling efforts, you had to develop skills and tolerances other kids missed out on. Some of the strongest people I know grew up taking care of inept, invalid, or psychotic parents--but they know the parents weren't normal, healthy, or whole.” PeopleKnowsTryingStillsWholeCareKidsTurnsGrowsProcessParentEffortGrowing UpGrewHealthySkillsNormalGrew UpToleranceDespiteAwfulHelpfulStrongestImperfectPsychotic Author:Frank Pittman
“Fathers who compete hard with their kids are monstrous. The father, for a throw-away victory, is sacrificing the very heart of hischild's sense of being good enough. He may believe he is making his son tough, as he was made tough by a similarly contending father, but he is only making his child desperate and mean like himself. Fathers must let their sons (and daughters) have their victories.” BelieveHeartMayMeanChildrenMadeHardEnoughKidsFatherSacrificeSonVictoryDaughterToughBe GoodDesperateGood EnoughMonstrousSon And DaughterContendingBeing Good Enough Author:Frank Pittman
“Becoming Father the Nurturer rather than just Father the Provider enables a man to fully feel and express his humanity and his masculinity. Fathering is the most masculine thing a man can do.” MenFeelsHumanityFatherCan DoBecomingMasculinityMasculineProvidersFathering Author:Frank Pittman
“In colonial America, the father was the primary parent. . . . Over the past two hundred years, each generation of fathers has hadless authority than the last. . . . Masculinity ceased to be defined in terms of domestic involvement, skills at fathering and husbanding, but began to be defined in terms of making money. Men had to leave home to work. They stopped doing all the things they used to do.” MenYearsTwoHomeLastsAmericaPastUsedFatherParentTermGenerationsSkillsAuthorityHundredDefinedPrimariesMaking MoneyMasculinityInvolvementOver The PastFathering Author:Frank Pittman
“To insult a friend implies that you respect his masculinity enough to know he can take it without acting like a crybaby. The swapping of insults, like the fighting between brothers, becomes the seal of the male bonding.” KnowsEnoughFightingActingBrotherMalesInsultMasculinitySealsBondingSwappingCrybabies Author:Frank Pittman