Just a Little Thing, but - - -

It has been my good fortune to be the Father of 4 kids and the grandfather of 9. I will always be grateful to their Mom who is grandmother to this complete baseball team roster.

That's a lot of babies. Now, due to my wife Phyllis, her son Ethan, and daughter-in-love Jenn, another baby has entered my life: Liam.

A photo of him - under a month old - striking the pose of Rodin's " The Thinker", presently serves as my computer screen saver. Although there is no Sullivan blood flowing through this little guy, I say hello and goodbye to him at least once a day.

I'm a sucker for little kids and will stop dead in my tracks in a restaurant, at a mall, or while window shopping -just to watch their antics.

Unfortunately, nowadays, one finds that any overt recognition by a man of the presence of a child - or his making an attempt to communicate with them - will often be greeted with displeasure on the part of Mom.

It's a shame, but, it's understandable. Things have changed - drastically.

There are many communities where a door cannot be kept unlocked, a child untethered, or the smile of a stranger ignored. It is easily understood how a young mother learns to adopt the advice from Hill Street Blues:"Hey, let's be careful out there!"

What is not as easily understood is how any adult would pick a child as his/her predatory target. Perhaps, I've caught too many episodes of Steve Wilkos but, that totally disgusts me.

There is no naivite in that comment. I have probably studied human behavior more than "the average bear" Despite that, I'm convinced they should never be given a second or third chance to repeat their sick activities. One only has to observe firsthand what molestation did to some really fine people.

Back to the good stuff.

There is nothing like the "clean wholesome" feeling you receive in holding a new baby's cheek next to your own or smelling that new young skin. For me, it brings back a lot of good memories.
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It's puzzling to me why Johnson & Johnson has not developed and marketed a fragrance that they named "Eau de clean baby".

The word "clean" is inserted in the quote to acknowledge anybody who has changed the diaper of a baby who has consumed a combination of strained peas and squash.

Of all God's many gifts to us, that "little thing" - has to be in my top five.