Somerset & Joshua
May 25, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Overton Square reborn to touch yet another generation

We recently spent a drizzly Sunday afternoon at a Rock-n-Romp, the annual series of live music events presented in a family friendly atmosphere. The program is in its 10th season, and the Alley family has been to nearly every show of the decade.

This was the first one held at Overton Square. On the back side of the Square in the courtyard with its built-in stage, we watched our kids visit and laugh, play games and dance to live music (but not kids music).

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g5
May 11, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Children keep this newly published author grounded

My mother used to walk my sisters and me up to the main library at Peabody and McLean when we were kids. That’s where it all started, this love of books. That, and seeing her reading for pleasure. Then there were the friends — the girl I met in high school who would become my wife and, later, a librarian — who helped to guide and goad my reading. It was the best form of peer pressure. Even more than school, I’d say, it was these friends and family who shaped me as a reader and, eventually, a writer.

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Alley kids
April 13, 2015 In "Because I Said So", Events By Richard J. Alley

Remembering seven years of parenthood in print

One of the best parts of writing this column is something realized every year around this time — the opportunity to reread, to go back in time and remember the silliness, the triumphs, the milestones that come with raising four children.

It’s a form of spring cleaning where I go through the closets and attics of my kids’ childhoods. Instead of tossing out, though, I’m gathering. I make piles from the good times and the bad, the happy moments and even the sad.

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Mimi with five of her 20 grandchildren
March 30, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Grandparents set high bar for wisdom, compassion

The change of seasons so far has taken some spring from my family’s step. Over the course of four days during spring break, we lost my wife’s grandmother, Evelyn Jean Bigham, and my own, Shirley Fachini. My children, until now distanced from death, suddenly were faced with a crash course in it. I’m grateful, though, that they were able to know their great-grandparents just as I had known mine. It’s a treasure to hear family lore from the mouths of those who lived it.

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testing
March 18, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

TCAP time not really about learning

Standard: (adj.) used or accepted as normal or average.

One Saturday near the end of my junior year of high school, I got in the family car and drove across town to Christian Brothers High School, my designated testing location for the ACT.

I’d gone to CBHS as a student my freshman year before leaving for Kirby High School. The Lasallian Brother who was proctor over the test remembered me, though, and he remembered my father and an uncle, both of whom had been less-than-stellar students.READ MORE

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calvinhobbes
March 1, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Look at the bright side of impromptu winter holidays

We’re in the midst of the long run-on sentence of winter, punctuated only by a staggering MLGW bill, a stomach bug and the occasional icy holiday.

But spring break is a matter of weeks away. Say it with me: Spring break is only weeks away.

There is nothing better than Memphis in springtime, is there? The dogwoods bloom, the birds chirp, and the azaleas blossom. Then, of course, comes the pollen. The green stuff fills the air, covers our cars and invades our noses, bringing watery eyes and itchy throats.READ MORE

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professor-groucho
February 17, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Mailbox full of milestones for oldest son — like taxes and college

My oldest son, Calvin, began working last fall at an East Memphis veterinary clinic. He goes in after school for a few hours a couple of days a week and on Saturdays. Last weekend, we logged on to TurboTax, and he filled out his first-ever income tax return. In a matter of weeks, $38 in refunded cash will be deposited electronically into his bank account.

Welcome to the real world of tax responsibility in the 21st century, Calvin.READ MORE

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comedytragedy
February 1, 2015 In "Because I Said So" By Richard J. Alley

Teenagers don’t need theater class to be dramatic

My daughter is taking a theater class at White Station Middle School this semester. She’s staring down at the teen years, and someone is going to spend his time teaching her drama.

She’ll turn 13 later this year, but the teenage attitude has already let itself into our house, taken a seat at the dining table and asked me to pass the potatoes. “Whenever — it’s not like I’m starving over here or anything.”

Which came first: this inclination toward melodrama or the television shows that perpetuate it on Nickelodeon? I’ve never really sat and watched one of those shows, not on purpose anyway, but they’re constantly on, and I can hear them the same way I can hear the humming of the air conditioner or the traffic on the street. It’s background noise to 44-year-old fathers.READ MORE

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

In 8-year-old girls basketball, beware the no-look pass

Eight-year-old Genevieve recently started playing organized basketball. It is her first time playing a sport and her first real attempt at any organization whatsoever. She’s still a wild card.

We’re not a sports family. Oh, we enjoy rallying around the home teams — the Grizzlies, the Tigers, the Redbirds. But with the exception of 13-year-old Joshua, we don’t rally around “SportsCenter.” I understand just enough to know when Genevieve is in the paint or out, when she’s offense or defense, and when to cheer for her and when to pretend I’m there for someone else.READ MORE

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