Man Child

In 2000, the Disney movie The Kid (starring Bruce Willis and Spencer Breslin) asks the following question: “If today’s adult version of you could somehow advise the child version of yourself, what recommendations would be made?

This question is both easy (and profound). Without your life experiences (both negative and positive), what would this version of you be like? Personally, I would try to prepare Robby (Robbie) on some of the life challenges that would begin as a teenager to now (many deaths). Somehow I would hook up Robby Kinker of Ohio with a very special female pen pal, Bobbi McFarlen, of both Nevada and California.

If I had known my wife as a child, I think it would have helped me better understand why she is the woman that I both love at times and find a challenge today in my marriage. (I was 30, and Bobbi was 28 when we married at Fellowship Baptist Church in Columbus, OH.)

I would have also prepared Robby for fatherhood, and the spirited daughter, Allena, that would later provide his life with lots of zest and pride.

Most of all I would tell Robby (yuck on the childhood name) to make his life decisions carefully because they will ultimately determine the quality of his life. Financially, I would tell him to live within his means. Go to college for Creative writing or journalism and not Elementary Education (although that is a worthy profession but not right for me). Love those that mean the most to you deeply. We have no idea how long they will be here. Think about all of this.