October 8 2008

Greetings my Dear Readers,

I come to you today bright and early today from Paradise.  Not much to report this morning, I just thought I should sit down and drop a few lines.

So far the 2007 and part of the 2005 Archives remain unrecoverable and appear to be forever lost, but on the bright side at least I was able to recover the bulk of posts for every other year.  

Over the last week or so the world has been held at bay and has not managed to overly irritate me, either the world is learning to give me a wide berth or I'm starting to soften up in my old age.  I'm seriously hoping its not the later of the two, or this site will be boring

But on the topic of my being a big softy, a little angel that stole my heart many years ago walked back into my life this week.  Although it was great to see them again, I was left feeling very old   It's nice to see the time, effort and emotion I put into my work with children pay off and have long term positive effects on the lives of children.  

Over the years I've been criticized and quietly ridiculed  by so called friends and family for choosing a life dedicated to the care and protection of children because:

1 - It's not considered manly and
2 - The pay is sadly lacking and anyone in the field will never do exceptionally well financially.

Well these criticisms have always been meaningless to me, as the people who have looked down on me clearly just don't get it.  To me, it takes a real man to love, care for and protect children from less then perfect homes.  In today's world, this is not considered a "Man's" job or career.  Well, I've never been one to fit stereo types.  In my eyes, it takes a real man to make a child, your biggest fan.

As far as the pay aspect goes, I accepted a long time ago that I will never get rich doing what I do, but when you walk down the street or through a shopping mall and small children race into your arms, you can't put a price on that and when a child you used to work with and haven't seen in years suddenly shows up and remembers who you are and is  happy to see you again, to me this means more then any amount of money.

As far as I'm concerned those that would look down on me for choosing to care are the ones that are losing out, the ones missing out on the joys that come with caring and to be honest....  If their lives are that sad and lacking that they feel they have to look down their nose at me, they can go to hell for all I care.

Then of course there are those that instantly assume that if your a guy that cares for children your either gay or a pervert.  I find the gay assumption amusing but its the pervert assumption that  bothers me more then any other criticism.  In today's hyper-paranoid society working with children is almost dangerous for men.  Yes, every precaution must be taken to ensure the safety and protection of children, and anyone found violating the sacred trust of children needs to be executed on sight, but there is a fine line between caution and being dangerously paranoid.  I've known many men who have left Child Care, Teaching, and other child related fields out of frustration.  Tired of the sideways looks and always being treated with suspicion.  This hyper-paranoia is driving caring people out of these fields into other occupations that they really don't enjoy, but the children are the ones losing the most.

Hopefully someday this hyper-paranoia will pass and the world can focus on the care and protection of children by people who truly care.

Until next time,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,

D.