It happened when we were standing in line to see Pee-wee Herman. My mother-in-law’s Christmas present to us was VIP tickets to Pee-wee’s Big Adventure on its 35th anniversary plus a photo opportunity with Paul Reubens at Atlanta’s Tabernacle. That's when the push notifications started: Fulton County schools, cancelled; the NCAA basketball tournament (that was to be played a few blocks from where we stood), not happening; Disneyland closed for the fourth time in 65 years; major league soccer, baseball, basketball, all done because of the coronavirus outbreak in our nation. It was time to … [Read more...]
About Michael Moebes
Becoming Dad is a Transformation of Life, Self-Knowledge
Because I’m a dad, I no longer hold others’ babies as far from my body as my arms can possibly reach like I’m offering the gods a living sacrifice. Because I'm a dad, I’m ready for Big Brother and the ubiquitous surveillance that will one day come to our society because I’ve been meticulously watched, noted, and imitated for the past 10 years. Because I’m a dad, I know what Pixar is working on at all times. Because I’m a dad, I’ve expanded my vocabulary to include new, obscure references to expletives or abbreviations for same (most of the time). Because I’m a dad, I know that … [Read more...]
Hadrian’s Wall Walk: A Trying, Successful Fundraiser
Editor's Note: On July 16, 12 fathers completed a hike across England along Hadrian’s Wall to raise money for a nonprofit camp that helps children of adults with cancer. Atlanta Dads Group member Michael Moebes was one of them, and here he chronicles the experience. Last week, we completed our much-anticipated walk from the Irish Sea to the North Sea along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. It was the second life experience (the first one being going to war) I’ve had which I can now describe with the phrase, “I probably wouldn’t choose to do it again, but I wouldn’t take anything for … [Read more...]
Good “Not So Good” Fatherhood Memories
If you have a blog and sometimes mention in it that you have little creatures in your house resulting from a drunken few minutes in your closet during a party at your house, then apparently you're supposed to write a post about fatherhood on Father’s Day. At least, that’s what the good daddy bloggers do. After commenting on a good example of such on someone else's blog, I figured I should do a little typing of my own. Aspects of fatherhood I have enjoyed over the years: Bringing my daughter to work, showing her off to everyone, placing her in my Herman Miller chair and taking funny … [Read more...]
Veteran of Iraq Remembers One Who Didn’t Escape from War
Among the photographs from my 2003 deployment to Iraq is one that sticks out. There’s a woman in uniform, not unlike every other picture I have of persons I served with there. But then there’s this guy. He has no BDU t-shirt or DCU pants; he’s in a white cotton button up with rolled sleeves and blue jeans. He’s sitting on a dusty cot next to our tent, his arms out, his lips pursed mid-sentence, and he’s smiling. He’s holding a shawarma wrapped in plastic he’s brought from his home to give us a break from the MREs we shared at lunch every day under our camouflage netting-covered “porch." His … [Read more...]