Category: My Family

Without a family, one seldom thinks long term

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“Available” in China

which is it? Banned or not banned?
Laura was first made aware of this site when she was mentioned as NOT being added to the list of folks excluded from URL’s available in China. I am not surprised: 1) Laura’s site is largely academic, 2) Laura is a nice person and 3) well…. I am sure there is a list ahead of her.

I was a little surprised that Karen was allegedly ‘banned’… so I ran Karen’s site through twice. First, it showed ‘her blocked’, then it showed her ‘available.’ I screen captured the page… this leads me to believe that it is the testing site that is in error… but I have another reason.

For those of you who know, every site comes with ( if you set it up) with what is called a ‘hits log’ whereby you can track visitors to your site. Karen’s site has been described as an on-line scrapbook for fans of track and field and has had a lot of hits over the years around the world… also in the Pacific rim and in China. Karen’s site is it’s own good will ambassador.

Interestingly enough… my site and my opinionated blog is also ‘available.’

Roger Freberg

The family member’s site who gets the most visits along the Pacific rim is Karla… her anime drawings have generated a lot of interest. You can read more on Laura’s Blog.

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What were YOU doing in 1976?

time flies....

Looking through old scrapbooks, I found a couple of pictures of Laura and I from 1976… whew, have I changed! Laura had her masters and was working on her Ph.D., I was in my first year of my MBA, we had been married 4 years… and we were visiting Laura’s Austrian exchange family. Funny to remember what was happening in those years…

1) Viking probe lands on Mars 2)Summer Olympic Games held in Montréal 3) Israeli airborne commandos attack Uganda’s Entebbe Airport
and free 103 hostages Islamic terrrorists of Air France plane 4)Jimmy Carter elected US President (sheeesh) 5) Ethernet invented (no, Al Gore didn’t invent this either) 

6) Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot becomes prime minister
(and virtual dictator) of Cambodia after
Prince Sihanouk steps down (April 2) 7) Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung Dies 8) Two amateur electronics enthusiasts develop the
Apple computer in a California garage
 
9) Most Popular T.V Shows: Happy Days (ABC),
Laverne & Shirley (ABC) ,ABC Monday Night Movie (ABC),
M*A*S*H (CBS),  Charlie’s Angels (ABC) I loved Austria… but we just came from Munich and spent a week at the Hotel Haberstock (a great place… but now just a memory) with evening walks to the Hofbrauhaus… aaah.   Roger Freberg   

      

     

 

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What WE Do for Love….

what we do for loveI am always fascinated by articles preaching to women on what a bad situation they have in life IF they get married.

Certainly, some women will find this article oddly compelling and in a way help rationalize their own decisions & current situation:

“Might I suggest that women have more of a “taste” for housework because they are shamed into it when they are even quite small.They are taught it is their responsibility. As a friend of mine once said, “Where in the marriage vows does it say, ‘The wife shall clean the toilets?’ I have as much “taste for hou(S)ework” as I have for rancid porridge. –  Julienne”

The author and Julienne seemed to be surprised that being married is more ‘work.’ Choose to have a family and the ‘work’ increases logarithmically…. for everyone.

Another outdated argument… and allow me to paraphrase: ‘women are victims of our environment and of men… blah blah’. I found it amusing that the post was on an evolutionary psychology site… which would  — by it’s ‘nature’ — be less sympatheic.. Besides, it goes without saying , Julienne is single.

Here are a few thoughts on love and marriage:

1) MARRIAGE COMES WITH STRINGS ATTACHED

Please forgive me if I don’t shed a few tears that a few ‘strings’ may be attached when anyone gets married. Marriage is all about ‘strings.’ Everyone walks into any relationship with hopes and expectations. However, obtaining ‘full disclosure’ is usually discovered only AFTER we are married… for better or worse. Strangely enough, ‘living together’ is less revealing for most couples…. 

2) FAMILIES (2 or more) FUNCTION BEST COMMUNALLY

Marriages and families are best as a communal system…. ‘from each according to their abilities and to each according to their needs.’ Mother goes back to school, we all pitch in to pick up the slack. Children go to college, resources are mustered to get them through. If dad comes home from a tough physical job, leave him be and hand him a beer.  By the way, Communism works best ONLY in a family.

3) WORK IS GOOD FOR YOU…

 If you think you are giving your partner 80%, chances are that the ‘other’ person is making most of the concessions. Does this surprise you? To make this work… in any business, marriage or family… we must recognized that it is in our ‘enightened self-interest’ to help, support and comfort those who will give us pride and happiness in the future. The effort and time placed into your relationships… is what increases it’s chance of continuing survival… and mutual satisfaction into those far off ‘golden years.’.

 By the way, ‘keeping score’ in any relationship is key to conflict without resolution. Men and women have needed each other for thousands of years…. and accepting the fact that any relationship increases the number of tasks and ‘duties as assigned’ by all parties is just a fact of life. Concequently, there is a price for playing this game… but it also has it’s rewards.

Finding your partner in marriage makes one’s life richer, happier and fuller… but it does mean more inconvenience and work for all.

 

Roger Freberg

 

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There’s a Prize for marrying a Smarter Woman!

My Laura... always with a smile!“In fact, educated women nationwide now have a better chance of marrying,especially at an older age, than other women. In a historic reversal of past trends … college graduates and high-earning women are now more likely to marry than women with less education and lower earnings… Even women with PhDs no longer face a “success penalty” in their nuptial prospects… But by their 30s, women with advanced degrees catch up, marrying at a higher rate than their same-aged counterparts with less education.”
 

In our globally competitive world, couples and families will succeed best if each strives to be all they can be and lends a helping hand to each other.

Roger Freberg

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Bruins in Troy!

2 Bruin Captains at a Trojan Track Banquet

I’ve seen John Smith around… he’s everywhere track and field … and sports … happens to go. John is a former world record holder in the quarter mile. He’s successful and so is his family…. but he is… well… a “Bruin”. I ran into John at the annual Southern California Trojan Track Banquet where one of his relatives was accepting a prestigious award.

We both got a laugh at the fact that two former Bruin Track Captains were at a Trojan event.

Fight on!

Roger Freberg