I’ll have my oldest daughter tell most of this ‘family story’. That’s partly because this is shaping up to be a distracted week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The family was on one of our rare vacations. Our third-oldest daughter was old enough to remember the trip, and our son hadn’t been born yet. That puts it some time back. Decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’d planned the vacation pretty well, so we had a place to stay for each night. But we ran into one of those stock comedy situations: a big-deal family vacation where it rains. A lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ll have our oldest daughter pick up the narrative at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n[oldest daughter] “…We went to Itasca, I think, once when I was little. I remember some things, mostly that it rained a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I just remember lots of pine trees, a cabin with a bathroom that didn’t have a light switch (the light turned on if the door was closed), and sitting at a picnic table under a glass dome in the rain.
…
[oldest daughter] “And you coming into the dome, hunched over, looking less-than-pleased at the weather, and carefully pulling out three copies of the same comic book. One for each of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n“And then being very annoyed at yourself when you took a closer look and realized it was a part 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I was just happy to have a comic book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I wasn’t expecting to get any of the other parts, especially with the noises Mom was making. Then several months later, you came home with the other parts.”
(Discord chat (June 23, 2025))<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Memories and Filling in Gaps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It’s funny, how memory works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My wife tells me we were coming back from Duluth, stopped off for the night somewhere around Itasca. She doesn’t remember how I found the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember that bathroom with the trick lighting: probably energy-efficient, but took getting used to. The picnic table under a glass dome \u2014 that, I don’t remember at all. Which is odd, since it’s the sort of architectural\/design detail I’d expect to get etched into my memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going out in the rain: that, I do remember. My goal hadn’t been getting comics. I don’t remember what the reason was. I think it might have been getting some routine toiletry that we’d forgotten: and a wind-up alarm clock. We’d planned ahead, but not perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hadn’t found what we needed at the first place I checked, and maybe not the second. It’s been a long time, and how many places I tried is one of many details I don’t remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From my viewpoint, finding those comics was a bonus. Getting them wasn’t entirely altruistic, since I figured they’d help lift the mood. And besides, these were Darkwing Duck comics: so I’d be enjoying the story, too. The Darkwing Duck series started in 1991, and I’m drifting off-topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Not a Collector: Just a Guy Looking For Those Comics<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Getting three copies was, I grant, a bit much. But the expense was well within budget. Finding the rest of that series became something of a quest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comics like that weren’t on the shelf in Sauk Centre. I ended up having a conversation with either a distributor or the publisher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A remarkable fraction of our talk involved me convincing the man at the other end that I really didn’t care about whether the copies were printed for mailing or retail, or whatever. That’s when I realized he probably assumed I was a collector. And that’s another topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ll have my oldest daughter pick up the narrative at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>“The Coolest Dad Ever”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n[oldest daughter] “Have I ever mentioned that you’re the coolest dad ever?” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[me] “You may have –<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Funny, I don’t remember trying to be a ‘cool dad’ ” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[oldest daughter] “Don’t know about [second oldest daughter] and [third oldest daughter], but I definitely would’ve liked to see the comics. I didn’t expect to, but seeing them was awesome.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[me] “I wasn’t so sure I could do it, myself – – but worth a try ” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[oldest daughter] “That makes you cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And talking to me like a person.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[me] “Well, of Course – – – you ARE a person!!! – but I know what you mean ”
(Discord chat (June 23, 2025))<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nA couple things going on here worth mentioning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- “Cool dad”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Being a person<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
I did a very quick check this week, and found ‘cool parent’ used fairly often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usually, whoever was writing defined ‘cool parent’ as someone who treats the kids with respect and listens to what they say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A very few wrote about ‘cool parents’ who let the kids run wild, gave them whatever they asked for, and acted surprised when something went horribly wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That surprised me, since I’d expected the ratio to go the other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for talking to our oldest daughter as if she’s a person: that’s no great virtue on my part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For one thing, I remember being young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I realized some adults talking down to kids probably meant well, and thought \u2014 if they thought about it at all \u2014 that it was either necessary, or ‘what one does’ when speaking to youngsters. But I didn’t enjoy the experience. At all. So, as an adult, I avoided that behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For another, I think human beings are people. All<\/strong> human beings. And I think giving people a measure of respect makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s just my experience and opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Showing Respect, Being a Parent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
More to the point, I’m a Catholic: so respecting humanity’s transcendent dignity and acting as if people matter \u2014 well, it matters. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1928-1942)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s like I said last week: human beings are people. Individual details, including age, health, or social status, don’t matter. Each of us is a person<\/strong>, made “in the image of God”. And, being a gift from God, human life is precious, sacred. (Genesis 1:26<\/a>–27<\/a>, 2:7<\/a>; Catechism, 355-357, 361, 369-370, 1700, 1730, 1929, 2258-2317)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wrapping this thing up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being told I was “the coolest dad ever” \u2014 in the ‘cool parents show respect’ sense \u2014 felt good, very good indeed. It’s nice, decades later, getting feedback like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve talked about being part of a family, acting as if people matter, and vaguely-related topics, before. If I’ve got time and focus before Saturday, I’ll add the usual links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope you enjoyed parts of this account of a waterlogged dad and comic books: and may God bless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had time, so here are those ‘family and acting as if people matter’ links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- “Attack on Lawmakers: Politics, Life, and Making Sense Anyway<\/strong><\/a>” (June 21, 2025)\n
\n
- Each Human Life Matters<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “Groundhog Day, and Me in Three Words<\/strong><\/a>” (February 2, 2021)\n
\n
- Adoption: Simply Fill Out These Forms, and These, And \u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “A Family Visit is Still in Progress: Kids and Adoption<\/strong><\/a>” (February 1, 2021)\n
\n
- A Brief, Succinct, Terse and Very Short Look at Family and Children<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “Where Have All the People Gone?<\/strong><\/a>” (November 23, 2018)\n
\n
- Religion, Science and Apocalypses<\/a> (discussion of family and children at the end of this part)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “Mother\u2019s Day, and Mary<\/strong><\/a>” (May 14, 2017)\n
\n
- Ephesians and Diapers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ll have my oldest daughter tell most of this ‘family story’. That’s partly because this is shaping up to be a distracted week. The family was on one of our rare vacations. Our third-oldest daughter was old enough to remember … Continue reading