We were so enthralled with the Chicago Field Museum that we decided to make the trip again. This time we invited my parents to go along and they happily agreed. You can see a picture of my dad and I below. I’m the good looking one just in case your wondering!

I show this picture because we decided to see the big game animals this time. There are so many to see that you become exhausted about half way through seeing all the animals. We were only  able to get through half the exhibit before my son started to crack so we got some McDonalds.

Some tips if you decide to go:

-Sunday is a great day to go as long as nothing is going on at Soldiers Field like a Bears game

-Saturday would be a better day if the Bears are playing

-Your best bet may be during the week keeping in mind that large obnoxious school groups will be there

-The McDonalds in the basement is a nice fast meal but is not that much cheaper than eating at the gourmet Corner Bakery located on the 1st floor. Your best bet to  save money is to pack your own lunch. We always see lots of families doing it this way and they seem quite happy.

-Parking is not  cheap at $16.00 a pop  and sometimes they only take cash so be prepared.

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I believe it’s a forgone conclusion that there’s a recession underway. None other than Warren Buffett himself said so last week on CNBC. If the economy is bad enough for Warren Buffett than that’s good enough for me…so to speak.

Of course, if you lost your job or are about to be downsized, out placed, right sized or summarily dismissed, then you probably know there’s a recession underway. If this is the case, then you have my sincerest sympathy. I’ve survived more than my share of company layoffs myself. I was lucky (or unlucky) to be low man on the totem poll each time and therefore cheap to keep. The guys and gals that were getting paid two to three times my salary were not so lucky.

As a teacher, my wife has been unlucky as the low woman on the totem poll and was RIF’d from her special education job about ten years ago. This is because the teacher’s unions have big a say in who get’s hired and who get’s fired at public schools nationwide.

She made the most of it and was able to turn a depressing moment into a great opportunity at one of the best public elementary schools in the state of Illinois. She unofficially retired from that job after she got pregnant with our son Al about five years ago. She made many friends including a lasting friendship with her boss. They still talk every couple of months.

The recession is having its effect on us. We are in the middle of trying to sell or house. Every person that comes in has some kind of issue that they expect us to solve for them. They don’t like this or they don’t like that. My feeling is that they’re all overly uptight due to the uncertain economic forecasts.

My wife and I have luckily kept the lines of communication open while were trying to sell the house. We also let the kids know what’s going on so that they don’t worry when mommy and daddy look frustrated.

No doubt other couples will not be so lucky and will pay a heavy price. If a couple was already having challenges in their marriage and are not communicating in a positive way, the recession could easily help to ruin their relationship.

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Wednesday used to be our favorite night of the week: date night. With two kids, work and community obligations, it was nice to sit back and take some time out for ourselves. What did we do? We watched LOST on ABC of course!

As far as my wife and I are concerned there could not be a better show on TV. It’s got everything: love, romance, betrayal, suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, great characters, conflicted characters, a beautiful setting (with or without HD). Those are just but a few of the wonderful aspects of LOST. My favorite though is the fact that my wife loves LOST just as much as I do!

Every couple I’ve met has had trouble finding a TV show, play or movie that appeal to both of them. I might like a show that has lots of fighting and little dialogue like The Ultimate Fighter.  My wife, on the other hand, loves shows with almost no explosions and lots of thoughtful conversations like The Ghost Whisperer.

We Tivo LOST so we can watch it at our convenience and without commercial interruption. The funny thing is that we inevitably watch it soon after it starts at 9pm.

The other cool thing about LOST is that everyone has their pet theory behind the various mysteries and plot lines. Early on I thought the survivors were in some sort of purgatory and that they were on the island answering for their earthly sins while my wife thought there were aliens involved! Our theories have since changed multiple times. Each time our theories change, gives us another chance to have a conversation and and a connection. Imagine a TV show that actually brings couples together!

Of course, I may be missing the whole point of the show but who knows.

Either way, I suggest you start watching today. LOST is now on Thursdays so we have changed our date night to Thursday. If you haven’t seen the previous episodes I suggest you Tivo the current season and then watch the previous seasons of LOST on DVD. Your significant other will love you even more for it.

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For those of you who already read my first post on Meghan Daum’s article, Finding Mr. Good Enough, you’ll find this post to be an extension of that.

Ms. Daum’s biggest criticism of Gottlieb is that Gottlieb feels that motherhood is as vital and important to being a woman as breathing is to life. However, when I compare breathing to procreation, I conclude that both are required for sustaining life. Take either one away and Ms. Daum would not be here to comment on Ms. Gottlieb’s article. And I would not be able to blog about it!

I do agree with Ms. Daum that motherhood should be taken seriously and that some parents are just not cut out for all the responsibility. Brittany Spears and Kevin Fedderline of course are the poster parents for this notion.

Ms. Daum goes further to say that culture puts pressure on women to wantonly desire babies whether or not it’s good and proper for them. Of course this presumes that women are mind numbed zombies following whatever the media has to say about parenting and motherhood.

I respectfully disagree with Ms. Daum’s assertion that society is somehow bad for us. In fact I would argue just the opposite: that it’s our wanton desire to procreate that shapes and molds our culture. Without  culture, we very well could have mass chaos. It’s our culture right or wrong that encourages certain behaviors which prevent chaos.

This is an important point of distinction with Ms. Daum. Cultural affects are in place to help guide us to what usually works: the key word being “usually”. Although I will admit that no one in their right mind would want Brittany and K-fed together raising anybodies children!

In my world, culture responds to how we program it, not the other way around. In some weird way we want culture to take care of us. In this weird way, culture is conservative and caring. It’s usually there to reign us in from making what it (we) believes are bad choices.

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Oprah has given everything to helping people across America and now she may have even out done herself. Premiering tonight, Oprah’s Big Give challenges ten contestants to help individuals in need. They’ll each be given a wad of cash and then have to go spend it fast. The catch is that one contestant will go home after being judged on his or her altruism and ability to work with others.

The players don’t know it, but the last contestant standing will walk home with a million dollars!

It’s good to be Oprah!

Last but not least, I’d like to invite all of the Big Give contestants to give me the money! I know exactly what to do with it and it will be put to good use. Trust me!

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