If I'm alone too long I think too much and I'm not interested in doing that. That won't lead anywhere good I'm sure. If I'm busy I tend to stay out of trouble. An idle mind is the devil's playground.

What troubles me is the Internet and the electronic technology revolution. Shyness is fueled in part by so many people spending huge amounts of time alone isolated on e-mail in chat rooms which reduces their face-to-face contact with other people.

When it comes to raising civilized kids there are no hard rules but there are two things on which most parents agree: Boys are generally wilder than girls and adolescents are wilder than kids of any other age. If you've got an adolescent boy you're in the sweet spot for trouble.

Of middle age the best that can be said is that a middle-aged person has likely learned how to have a little fun in spite of his troubles.