Bend it Like Marta

by Charles Newbery

Posted in: Daughter

"Watch out, boys!"

My eldest daughter wants to play football.

So I took the eight year old with her brother, six, to have a go at a summer football clinic in Pinamar, where we are spending the summer on the coast of Argentina.

She put on her Argentina jersey, so did her brother and their younger sister, who is three. She tagged along with her own ball to have a play with daddy while the others trained.

I looked at my eldest daughter, a die-hard fan of Argentina and Carlos Tevez.

She was jumping up and down, warming her legs for the session.

I smiled nervously. I wanted to warn her about the machismo in Argentina, her own country, and that the boys might not want to play with a girl. They may not pass to a girl and they may tackle her just as if she was a boy, and it may hurt. [click to continue reading…]

Did you like the post? You can share it:

{ 0 comments }

The Bad News Osos

by Charles Newbery

Posted in: Son

"I got it, I got it!"

“The Bad News Bears” was a favorite movie of mine as a kid

I loved it.

I wanted to ride a motorcycle like troublemaker Kelly Leak and take on the whole sixth grade like Tanner.

And it made me play harder at Little League, where once my team went to the championship.

I can’t remember the final result, only a key play. I tagged out a runner to save the moment. I played catcher and the runner was barreling home and the ball was thrown from center field. It bounced and magically landed in my mitt and my mitt, again magically, tagged out the runner, and the ump said, “Out!” Gruffly, and all.

My three kids don’t play baseball. They play soccer, well, football as they call it here in Argentina.

My six-year-old son is the keenest, so far. [click to continue reading…]

Did you like the post? You can share it:

{ 0 comments }

Lazy Days in Pinamar

by Charles Newbery

Posted in: Mum

Love is in the wind.

As a reporter, I am often on deadline.

And as often my wife will call as I race to get the news out.

She makes requests or insights, and I let them go in one ear and out the other, too busy to take her into account. My attention is on the story and my response into the phone is, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Inconsiderate?

Certainly.

But it happens.

And now the other way round. [click to continue reading…]

Did you like the post? You can share it:

{ 0 comments }

My Little Runner

running, children, zola budd, racing, exercise, parenting, running with children, dad

I once won a two-mile race – and then spat up blood. That was in university. My competitors congratulated me and said, “You were fast.” And then they said, “Can we help you?” They walked with me to the changing room, all 10 or so of them. It wasn’t a formidable contest. But I won [...]

Read the full article →

The Inseparables

children's games, kids games, playing, children, tag, pica, sibling love, siblings, brothers, sisters

My three children love to play tag. They call it “pica.” That’s what all the kids call it in Spanish here in Argentina, where we live. It’s a favorite game. Sometimes it starts a day of play. And at times it’s the fall-game. It’s what the kids and their friends turn to when other games have [...]

Read the full article →

Cool Dad?

dad, parenting, kids, playing, coming home for dinner, santa, christmas

Merry Christmas! We’re on the coast of Argentina for the summer holidays. It’s hot and sunny. This is very much a homecoming for my family. Every summer we come back to our house in a pine forest a few blocks from the beach. This is Pinamar. We lived here for a little over two years, [...]

Read the full article →

Ocean’s Three

dad, parenting, children, money, allowance, daughter

There are many ways to exert money out of parents. I’ve heard the whining method to the oh-what-we-could-do-with-a-few-dollars approach. You name it. They can often end with petitions of pretty please and sugar on top. I’m not a tight wad. I don’t have a wad to be tight about. That doesn’t matter for my three [...]

Read the full article →

The Dog Ate It

dogs, pets, dad

I have a Bernese Mountain Dog. It is a rare breed anywhere, and more so in Argentina. So when you come across another you generally stop and let them sniff each other and you exchange a few words with the other owner. I did last night and the other owner asked how old mine is. [...]

Read the full article →

Getting Stuffed on Thanksgiving: Surfing and Childhood Memories

argentina, los angeles, parenting, dad, surfing, writing, getting older, dreams

Thanksgiving always brings back memories of my childhood in West L.A. I was there on my own for two weeks in February and two years before that with my entire family. But with three children it is getting harder to travel there from our home in Argentina. Not mentally. I can still remember most of [...]

Read the full article →

The Pits: Experiments in Deodorants

deodorant, antiperspirant, body odor, smell, perspiration, armpits, dad

I decided to do a olfactory experiment. I have sensitive skin, especially in my armpits. When I was a kid and discovered the potential for odor, I started, as would be expected, to use deodorant. I borrowed my dad’s Speed Stick and so began years of application that extended to perfumed soaps, shower gels and [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries