It's Microsoft's Fault!

Remember that time when you couldn't get your overnight assignment to your teacher in the morning, because your dog ate your homework? Well that happened to me just now, sort of. Actually, 'it' wasn't homework at all, considering that I haven't been in school since 1969. And it wasn't a dog that ate it. Blogger ate it. It ate the blog post I was working on. Or maybe it was my browser, or even my computer that caused the problem. No, I know: it was Microsoft. I can't count the number of times that various iterations of the Microsoft Windows operating system have locked up the numerous computers I have owned over the years, losing or corrupting files and causing me countless hours of extra work.

It doesn't really matter though, who or what was at fault. The half-finished post is gone, and has disappeared forever. I hate to do anything twice, so I will save an attempt at the same topic for another time, when it again happens to pop into my head and I won't remember that I started a post on it in days past.

So, what shall I write about instead?

How about sex? That is always of interest to everyone. Each of us is always either trying to get it or to avoid it. Those who seek it never get enough, and those who seek to avoid it, get way too much. Occasionally, when two people with similar requirements and expectations for physical intimacy meet, nirvana results. Isn't that the way it works?

I talk to my son about sex quite often. I want him to understand that his dad isn't as clueless and inexperienced as kids somehow think their parents are. I want him to know that I know what I'm talking about, when I caution him about potential sexual adventures and opportunities.

Most parents have 'been there' and 'done that.' Their kids think that they themselves are the first-ever humans to discover sex, and that the fossils who support them don't have a clue. We all know that isn't true, don't we?

I'm no fuddy-duddy. I have no problem with recreational sex, in the right context. I do have a problem with indiscriminate and irresponsible sexual behaviour. In a world where even cheese commercials* talk about (and seemingly endorse) one-night stands, our kids need to understand that actions can have undesirable consequences. I want to be able to talk to my son about these things without the squirming and embarrassment that one might otherwise expect in such circumstances. So far, so good.

Sex, in the abstract, is good. It is fun. It is healthy. Gratuitous sex in movies and TV shows may be titillating, but I ask myself why so much of it is necessary? Do our young kids really need to see this stuff? It is not even just the sex itself, it is that it is treated so casually that it is not much different from shaking hands or kissing someone on the cheek.

Hi. Wanna f**k?

That's about what it boils down to, at least in the movies. In real life, let's at least encourage our kids to take it a little slower. And that doesn't mean just waiting until after the movie ends. It means understanding the implications of sexual activity, acting respectfully and carefully and, maybe even waiting a while. Like, maybe a few years.

Let's hope.

*I'm referring to the commercial where a woman is putting her tampons and other feminine goodies into a medicine cabinet, and a male head peeks around the corner and watches her with consternation. Then, an old woman appears onscreen and tells the man that if he is unsatisfied with the way his one night stands evolve into something more permanent, he should stop cooking with cheese.