Richard J. Alley | “Because I Said So”

November 9, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Signing off on my final column, and still laughing at my kids

After more than seven years and somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 columns, I feel it’s time for me to turn my attention elsewhere and focus on other work and expanded ideas. This will be my last column, and I wanted to use this space to thank all of you for so many years of reading, for the emails you’ve sent and the stories you’ve shared about your own children or your own childhood as we stood side by side questioning the number of cereal options at Kroger.READ MORE

October 25, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Kids must find their own way to the right path

Talk turned, as it generally will, to the folly and flaws in raising children. The women sitting on a Midtown porch last week had children in ages that ran from toddler to my oldest, a senior in high school, and talk ran to the transition from the indiscretions of a child to those of a teenager; how the innocent fibs of the child become the lies of the teen.READ MORE

Richard J. Alley, author of Five Night Stand

October 12, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Shootings, driving provide plenty to worry about

When my oldest son turned 15, we went to the empty parking lot of the Liberty Bowl to allow him to become comfortable and confident behind the wheel of a car. Weeks later, when we both felt the time was right, he eased the car onto the city road, taking back streets to get the feel of driving in traffic. He studied the driving manual and took a test at a government facility to obtain a driver’s permit. Many more months of him driving with me or his mother would follow before he went back to that government facility to take a road test with a trained professional. At 17, he is subject by law to a restricted driving arrangement for another year.READ MORE

September 19, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Changing schools part of growing up for resilient kids

I changed schools between my first- and second-grade years, going from Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Midtown to St. Louis Elementary in East Memphis. Other than the eight miles that separated the two, it was a pretty lateral move for a 7-year-old. The uniform was the same, as was the dogma.READ MORE

August 31, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

As a community, let’s celebrate the joy of reading

Summertime reading. Two simple words that conjure up images of whole days spent on the beach, toes in the sand with a Mai Tai at your elbow, wrapped up in the newest release. Or perhaps the mountains are your locale, and an evening fireside with only the sound of crickets and owls nearby as soundtrack to a favorite novel from years past.READ MORE

August 17, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

It’s time to get serious about watching what family eats

My father passed away at 62 years old; his father died at 55, and his at 49. Last week I turned 45. Genetics being what it is, I decided years ago to begin the ritual of the annual physical exam. It happened again just a couple of weeks ago.READ MORE

July 21, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Exercise for body and mind, for all ages

After a week of bad behavior brought on by the doldrums of summer vacation, the lack of any routine and profound boredom (the bane of parents everywhere), I decided that what my 9-year-old needed was an exercise routine.READ MORE

July 6, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

From soccer fields to classrooms, female role models abound

Who do young people look up to these days? Bill Gates? Barack Obama? Michelle Obama? Marc Gasol?

In trying to remember the outside influences that inspired me as a child, I keep coming up with The Six-Million Dollar Man, Evel Knievel, Mr. Kotter and Bo and Luke Duke. I watched a lot of television as a child of the 1970s.READ MORE

June 22, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Family vacation takes us back to the future

Road trips bring out the kid in me. Even in the captain’s chair, I’m transported back to the 1970s and family trips to Destin, Florida. The backseat was cramped, the windows were rolled down to circulate air, the radio signal went in and out with the curves of the road, and my sisters and I dreamed that if we only had a television, all of our travel problems would be solved.

June 9, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Managing birthdays and inflated expectations

It shows up before noon, spread out on the front lawn like an oversized, rubber area rug. I look to the darkening sky and am told I have to help. None of the heavy lifting, mind you. I’m put into service locating an accessible electrical outlet to plug in the motorized thing that causes the inflation. This is why I can’t be entrusted with anything mechanical. This is why the man in charge tells me: “Stand back.”READ MORE

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