A few weeks ago, I was telling my son, Philip, that nepotism seems to be a way of life in the blogging world. It's common for bloggers to refer to blogs from their brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and seventh-cousins-twice-removed. I think there was a little indignance in my voice as I contemplated big-traffic bloggers bequeathing portions of their readership to relatives while we poor, righteous underlings toiled away in obscurity. (This was the tone I took, I'm sure, although I'm not sure how much I meant it.)
Days later, I casually told Phil that I had linked to a post from his MySpace blog. "Oh," he said, "a little nepotism." Yes, I suppose it is nepotism and Phil is welcome to whoever might click over to his blog on the basis of a mention here.
Here's the part you may find hard to believe: Phil's writing is definitely worth reading. Really...and not just because he's my son. It's because he's thoughtful, insightful,...and funny!
Being a nightowl, he dashes these epistles off while the rest of us are snoring. Waking each day to find them is a bit like experiencing Christmas morning.
But as good a communicator of substance as Phil is, he's an even better person. After worship today, I was talking with a woman who's known him since he was a little boy. "He seems to be able to go to people of any age and care for them," she said. From my biased perspective, that's very true.
Phil is a man of deep loves. He loves God. He loves our country. He loves his friends. He loves to learn. He loves people. He also loves his Mac computer, baseball, alternative rock, and this amazing pageant of human life. It shows in what he writes.
In the upper righthand corner of this post is a picture my wife snapped of Phil during a recent trip to the Sagamore Hill home of Theodore Roosevelt at Oyster Bay, New York. (This is also the place he befriended some Greek Orthodox priests who toured the house with us.)
I'm very proud of both of my kids. This one has a blog and I think it's worth reading. So, it's nepotism. I can live with that.
Here is a link to his site: PowerMadRecluse.
3 comments:
As one who has linked to brothers and father and am about to turn a letter from my mom into a guest blog, all I can say is -- nepotism is natural!
He's a good-hearted thinker and a handsome fella, too! You're justified in your paternal kvelling.
Annie:
Thanks for the affirmation of my nepotism and, most especially, for the kind thoughts on my son, his heart, and his thinking. God bless!
Mark
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