The NY Times, Late to the Movement

I know this is a month late, but -- I assure you -- you won't be any worse off for having missed it: the New York Times stumbled across the trend of the economy creating involved fathers out of the rubble of the financial sector.

Now, let me give full credit to the Times. They appear to have actually tracked down a whole community of these guys, which is a damn sight better than a lot of the other reporting on this topic, which has tended to recycle the same few gentlemen (not that there is anything wrong with those fathers). But the general message isn't new: "Holy crap, men around here are sudden being forced to parent. Can they possibly adjust to this new and alien lifestyle?"

The answer is -- of course -- that, yeah, the guys are doing just fine. It's a bit weird with the new role (what new role isn't), but no one appears to be off their rocker with misery. Which is no shock to the rest of us.

(I guess I cannot let it pass without notice that the so-called paper of record saddled the story with a headline that included the phrase "Mr. Mom." So let me say to the headline writers of America, for the millionth time, "Mr. Mom" is -- at best -- a lazy, outdated phrase. At worst, it's a pejorative. Please, please look for some alternatives.)