Cruel and Unusual Geography

So yesterday was Father’s Day here in New Zealand.

I guess a day like this means different things to different people. I have a lot of love and respect for my Dad, and I’m thoroughly enjoying being a Dad myself, so the day has a positive feel for me.

This year Father’s Day started far too early when my daughter — she’s 7 — woke me so she could make me breakfast in bed. She couldn’t reach the toaster, so brought bread and jam to my bedside and made me a sandwich. She evidently decided that a cup of water wasn’t sufficient, and brought be a bottle of beer from the fridge too. It didn’t really matter what happened after that: my day could only be a good one after that start.

Being Dad is awesome. I just wanted to say that.

Yes, I know it’s not a competition, but it’s still nice to hear when one’s kids do well. My kids raised over $300 dollars for World Vision each in the recent 40 Hour Famine.

I’m especially proud of my 7-year-old daughter, who raised more than any other child at our church, and was 4th overall. And at something over $8600 we apparently raised more than any other church in New Zealand.

But I’m not competitive.

Yesterday I asked the question

If you, for some strange reason, wanted your child to be kidnapped and held overnight by a stranger, how long would you have to leave him or her outside, alone and unsupervised in America, for this to be statistically likely to happen?

There were a number of answer offered, ranging from a rather pessimistic 17 minutes to “their entire lifetime”. The answer, calculated by Warwick Cairns, author of How to Live Dangerously, and published by Lenore Skenazy on her excellent Free-range Kids site is an astonishing 750,000 years! I can only guess at the methodology used to reach that number, but suspect that Lance Wiggs has it right in his comment. I didn’t even pay much attention in stats class back at school, so can’t comment on what “statistically likely” means.

It’s worth remembering, too, that almost all abductions are by family members or others known to the child — abductions by a stranger are (clearly!) very rare.

I’d like to close with Lance’s comment. He’s right, and I’ll write more about this later.

Almost all people are good.

Folks worry, a lot, about supervising their kids. Here’s a quick question for you:

If you, for some strange reason, wanted your child to be kidnapped and held overnight by a stranger, how long would you have to leave him or her outside, alone and unsupervised in America, for this to be statistically likely to happen?

Now, the fact that I’m asking this should suggest to you that the answer isn’t what you’d expect.

Go on, hazard a guess. Post your best guess in the comments, or send to me written in blunt crayon on the back of a postage stamp.

I’ll post the answer tomorrow.

So, the 40-hour famine is the weekend of 22-24 May. For the first time, both my kids (ages nearly-7 and just-9) are doing a 20-hour no-food famine.

If you’re doing the famine, good on you! If not, here’s my challenge to you: can you spare $1 or $2 (in New Zealand currency) to support malnourished kids in Bangladesh? It’s less than the price of a coffee, but buys much more than that. If we can get lots of people to donate just $1 or $2, it will add up to a substantial amount.

You can donate from anywhere in the world with a credit card. This is Jonte’s third famine. He finds it a bit of a challenge, but achievable. He has a goal of raising $280 this year. It’s Amelia’s first famine. She’s going to find it difficult, as she’s pretty unhappy when she’s hungry.

Both kids are going around family and friends looking for sponsorship; this on-line appeal is an extra, hoping to get a few more dollars for a genuinely good cause.

Donate on-line: sponsor Jonte or Amelia with a small credit card payment. They’ll learn about the generosity of strangers, you’ll get a good feeling for almost no cost, and the World Vision workers will have more resources to help the genuinely needy.

Here are the links again:

Sponsor Jonte. He’s 9 years old, is into gymnastics, basketball, dance, Star Wars, reading, and too much telly.

Sponsor Amelia. She’s almost 7, loves gymnastics, swimming, cuddling up with her Dad and a good book, and Barbie.

You don’t need to donate a lot (although you’re welcome to!) and just $1 or $2 will be hugely appreciated.

Thank you.

Update: for those wondering where the money goes: it doesn’t go to me! All payments go directly to World Vision for their excellent work.

Update 2: the payment facility will probably close off this weekend (the 30th or thereabouts).

A brief post to show off the short video clip of my son’s first miniball (beginners’ basketball) goal. The Middleton Grange Gators (in green; my boy is number 13) are playing the Pioneer Leopards.