I'm a human garbage disposal and it's not good. I've found that trying to limit a child's intake of sugar can lead to an increase in one's own calorie count.
This morning at Whole Foods, I saw a plastic container of gum drops -- $5.99 for a tub of perhaps 40 gum drops -- and I immediately thought of my son, who, for some unknown reason, has been asking about gum drops lately. (Oddly, he hasn't asked about any other century-old candy treats.)
I passed them up because while I'm OK with him trying these almost certainly pure sugar drops, I don't want 40 of them in the house. Because one of two things will happen:
He will eat all of them or I will eat all of them. Both choices are unacceptable. Neither of us needs to eat gum drops on a regular basis.
But I often find myself boosting my own caloric intake in an ongoing effort to limit his sugar buzz. It's a good thing he doesn't have a taste for pure lard or fois gras.
A cookie at Alterra? Sure, but it's huge, so we have to split it. Custard at Kopp's? Yes, but even the small is too large for a toddler, so I'm often nipping into his when he's not looking, to help him get to the end faster.
Of course, none of this is his fault. After all, he'd be more than happy to oblige and finish the entire cookie.
This can't be good for me. But on the other hand it seems terrible to take half the cookie and toss it in the trash. Lately, thanks to my wife -- who is much smarter than me -- we've started taking the other half of the cookie home for the next day.
But that doesn't work as well with ice cream, does it?
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
