Surreptitious Saturday

SAT 5/5 Cell Phones & Teens + Italian Cuisine + Moms & Wine

From Minneapolis Star Tribune (1/28):  "Teens Happier Pre-phone. A precipitous drop in the happiness, self-esteem & life satisfaction of American teens came as their ownership of smartphones rocketed from 0 to 73% & they devoted an increasing share of their time online. Coincidence? New research suggests it is not . . . Some studies show that the greater the time spent engaged in online content & social media, the unhappier the child . . . Comment:  What's disconcerting is that children at ever younger ages are being given cell phones & allowed to use them with little or no supervision. I realize that parents want the ability to be connected to their kids 24/7, but how did we survive w/o our kids having cell phones in 1st grade?

There Is No Place Like . . . Italy

From Drudge Report (5/3):  "As giant rodents thrive in Italy, mayor comes up with novel solution--eat them . . . "  Comment:  When you go to an Italian restaurant, read the menu very, very carefully. I'm just sayin'.

Nevada

From Norfolk Daily News (4/27):  "Student sues over pro-gun shirt ban. An 8th grade student has filed a federal lawsuit accusing his northern Nevada school district of violating his 1st Amendment rights after he says he was told his pro-gun T-shirt violates the school's dress code. Comment:  Regardless of your political persuasion, there is good reason for banning t-shirts that have ANY messages on them, period.

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing

From Reader's Digest "My Mom Just Said" (May 2018):

• "Growing up, my mom would often say, 'If you kids didn't cost so much, I could drink wine that comes out of a bottle.
• "My mom said, 'You know what I need? A selfie stick. So whenever I see someone taking a selfie, I can hit them with the stick.'"

Thought for Today . . . Families Are a Gift

SHARED IDENTITY

“God setteth the solitary in families.” Ps. 68:6 (KJV)

“Knowing family members as God’s gift to us, we open ourselves to them. They bring those things we ourselves do not possess. And we ourselves seek to be a gift of God to them.” At the Crossroads: Devotions for Lent, by David Kehret, Creative Communications for the Parish, 2016.

MY THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  One of the things that I continue to be most grateful for is the strong bonds I feel with our brothers, sisters, nieces, & nephews.