On The Road

Somewhere in the middle of Texas, off Highway 287 at a very nice rest area. With a playground. And WiFi. Something unimaginable when I was in the back seat of a '67 Ford watching the miles click away through the plains of Dakota. Who'd have thunk it? WiFi and ecologically-friendly rest areas.

So, the kids are stretching and burning some energy. Which is good, as the trip, while certainly not bad, has had some challenging moments. Nothing unexpected, nor anything of great significance. Just children being...well, children.

My wife and I have had to remind each other of the need to let kids be kids, and to see that the training process is a long one. Now, that seems especially the case on a road trip of 13 hours in a day. There are some "incidents" on any such trip, but the thing we - I - must remember is that the parenting task extends to all circumstances, and is one which requires special patience and grace when a bunch of us are in the car/truck.

On this particular venture, we're dealing with a lot of emotions. After visiting the grandparents' place, we're all adjusting to life as we know it to normally be. The routines, disciplines and expectations experienced in our home have been missing, and now we're slowly "re-entering."

Grace, Lord, give us grace. Only 500 miles to go today.

And here they are! Playtime is over, and we need to get back. On the road. Again.

Sounds like a good song title.

Busy Days

Only an hour ago he asked, "When are we gonna start reading Lord of the Rings again, Dad?" I told him I would like that, but we've got some hurdles to surmount. The kitchen duty chores have been divided up differently, so that it is no longer a group effort. Each night a different child takes on the entire task, solo. Well, the table gets cleared off by all, but that still leaves plenty to do for just one person, especially a grade-schooler. We've had some motivation issues, and that requires some parental intervention and assistance, which takes time and energy...and then when the kitchen is finally cleaned up, it is pretty much bedtime (yes, it can take that long to clean up after 8 people - and tonight's BBQ'd ribs was a wonderfully messy meal to clean).

This was not a perfect evening, but a nice one. After a tremendous meal, which the children devoured, the cleanup took some time and effort. I put the little one to bed, and he seemed ready to sleep without much fuss. Now there is a gathering in the living room, as Mom reads a book, Carry On Mr. Bowditch. It is excellent, historical fiction encompassing history, geography, astronomy and more. Really fascinating.

And it strikes me that we need - I need - more evenings like this one. Family dinner followed by some "down time" and togetherness. Our routine got lost somewhere before Christmas, and we haven't found it since. We've had too much going on, some illness, some unexpected travel, visitors. All of that got into the way of our beloved nightly routine. And we all noticed that.

I like what is happening right now. This is our family, as it should be. Oughta be. Needs to be.

It is getting late. We let the kids stay up a bit longer, as we have enjoyed the night's tone and activities. The book is closed, our prayers have been said, and now, it is bed time. G'night.

Tech: Web-Enabled iPod?

Show of hands: How many of you have an iPod? Some other MP3 player? MP3 capable phone? MP3 capable PDA? Have at least seen someone in public walking around wearing those ubiqitous while headphones?

My point in asking is to illustrate that which we did not think possible even a mere five years ago. Who would have thought that we'd consider MP3 (or in the case of Apple's iTunes software, MP4) the standard way to organize our music and take it with us wherever we go? And yet, here we are, and most of us either have a player. Certainly nearly all of us at least knows someone who does have an iPod (or similar).

So, in five years, what will we consider "normal" for our audio consumption patterns? Well, here's one probable trend that will take us closer to that day.

From today's Radio and Internet Newsletter, an interesting bit of speculation. Apple dominates the MP3 player market, and what they do affects most other player manufacturers. So when you read something like this, you know that a new development - affecting a lot of our audience, and also offering us some great opportunities - is just around the corner.

Even if the idea has no real merit today, it will likely end up being true in the coming year.

Wi-Fi Bluetooth iPods sound like the ultimate in convergence fantasy for a wide variety of tech industries. But for RAIN readers, talk of such a player could signal Internet radio capabilities for the world's most popular portable digital media player.

Picture this: When you turn on your iPod, an "Internet Radio" menu would appear, where you could browse through your favorite stations' streams from your iPod's display. This would realize so much of Net radio's portability potential, and in a very mainstream way. Pair that with the hottest personal player going, and what follows should be absolutely huge.

I find this all very interesting. For those of us in the audio business, it means a lot of new ways to deliver our programming. And ways to reach new listeners.

There's a world of new listeners out there! How will they want their audio?

Parenting: Too Much, Too Little

Time...how do you spend it? How do your children spend THEIR time?

According to a report by the Kaiser Foundation a couple of years ago, children spend far too much time with the electronic media and far too little time with books (and being read to by their parents). Some of the findings:

Two hours a day: The average amount of time each day that children 6 and younger sit in front of a television set, a computer monitor or playing video games.

Only 39 minutes per day: Average time that children spend reading or being read to by someone.

Too much time with the media.

Too little time with books.

Seems like a parenting issue to me.

Ah, No Dear

A neighbor’s house was “TP’d” recently. The Charmin was streaming all over their trees. It was a thorough job. Only problem: The intended victims were not home. And within a couple of hours, caring neighbors (not us) were out there picking up every stray sheet of the white tissue paper. There was little damage done, and no lingering effect. Sorry about that.

Ah, but the perps caught word of their fruitless efforts, and soon struck the same house again. And in great style. Paper streaming everywhere. It was a rather windy day that followed, and the effect was somewhat pretty, actually. Which probably was the reaon behind my 7 year-old’s question to me the next morning.

“Daddy,” she asked, “Can we decorate OUR yard like that one?”

“Ah, no dear. That’s not really supposed to be there in the trees…er, how do I explain this to you?”

The delightful innocence of a first-grader.

The joys of parenting.

Gotta love it.

Touching Hearts For Adoption

I got a bit emotional the other day I saw the Heart Gallery, a traveling exhibit is helping raise awareness about children in need of a home. How deeply I was touched by the photos and stories!

The exhibit features pictures of more that 50 foster children in Colorado, some of whom have been placed recently in "forever families," others who have waited years...and are still not part of a loving family.

In Colorado Springs, TV station KOAA, Channels 5/30, covered the exhibit. Look for video here. Here's what one tour organzer, Diane Ingolia, said:

"The pictures really capture the personality and the spirit of each of the children and then to be able to read the biography on them-- just that short little phrase that makes your heart say 'oh, there's just so many children out there and maybe I can do something."

I was sobered and quite moved. I prayed. How will you react if you see a similar exhibit?