Frankly Speaking: Too Much Information

By Steve Frank, Frankly Chatting

Don’t get me wrong. I love my daughter. Love her to death. We’ve always been there for each other through both our rough patches. I taught her to ride a bike, drive a stick shift. Sat through bone-chilling football games when she was a cheerleader. Fought with her when she was dating knuckleheads. Practiced a dance routine for her wedding. But now, I’ve got to put some distance between us. There has to be boundaries.

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Frankly Chatting: Amazing Grace

By Steve Frank, FranklyChatting.com

A. Tobias Grace, 1945-2019 R.I.P.

It was the autumn of 1964. The social winds of discord were in the air and nowhere more evident than at Trenton State College where the Theta Nu Sigma fraternity roamed the campus with the rebellious attitude that defined the decade. They subsisted on cheap beer and testosterone; ingratiated themselves to the other frats; and enjoyed the affections of the coeds so enchanted by the lure of the “bad boy”. They were loud and ribald; fiercely insular and prone to debauching themselves on weekends.

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Frankly Chatting: “I’m Against It”

By Steve Frank

We need the Marx Brothers today. Well, not the Marx Bros. physically – they’re dead. But their brand of humor: silly enough to be laughable but satirical enough to be thought-provoking. Take their movie, Horse Feathers (1932), for example. Their slapstick antics are woven around a clever indictment of the misplaced priorities given to collegiate athletics. In one famous musical number, “I’m Against It”, Professor Wagstaff (Groucho) asserts that “Whatever it is, I’m against it”. “It” being the absurdities of life.

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Frankly Chatting: Don’t be a baby

By Steve Frank

I always sorta’ saw myself as a tough guy. Not physically but in a mental patient kind of way. I never pampered myself. Didn’t let the weather affect me; scorcher, nor’easter, flooding, blizzard -didn’t matter. I went about my business doing whatever it is I do. I used to coach wrestling. Anyone who’s ever spent time in a wrestling practice room knows the saying “Suck it Up!” When you’ve got nothing left in the tank; you’re gasping for air; there’s thirty seconds left on the clock. Suck it Up!

I incorporated this politically incorrect child-rearing philosophy into raising my kids. They flirted with 100% attendance almost every year of their school lives. Got a headache? It’ll pass. Queasy stomach? Don’t be a baby. Tired? Stop whining. And, of course, you never get to quit anything. Well, at least, without giving it your best shot.

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