New Favorite Columnist

It is now official. Paul Greenberg has been dethroned as my favorite columnist. (Non-sports columnist, that is. Steve Rushin, late of Sports Illustrated, will reign for a long time as my favorite sports columnist. I would wade through a river of tuna casserole to read a Steve Rushin column--and I hate tuna.) Greenberg is still wonderful, and I read almost everything he writes. But I have a new favorite.

Lenore Skenazy aka The World's Worst Mom.

I have enjoyed Skenazy in the Tulsa World over the past year or so since I noticed her columns. The picture the World posts with her contributions shows a woman with a smile that says, "Hey, ya got a minute? I have something to share with you that you might find interesting." Pictures of other columnists give me the impression that they know way more than I do about anything (which may be true) and they KNOW THAT THEY KNOW much more than I do (which is just annoying arrogance). But her friendly smile alone was not enough to vault Skenazy over Greenberg.

She made a strong run at number one a few weeks ago when she wrote a piece titled Victoria's Secret Isn't Sexy It's Raunchy But her leap into the esteemed number one slot came with an essay released on April 1. Some may have thought it was an April Fool's Joke, but if so, the joke is on them.

Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone tells how Skenazy took her son to Bloomingdales in the heart of Manhattan armed only with a subway map, a MetroCard, a $20 bill and some change in case he needed to make a call. No cell phone. No GPS homing device. No private eye to tail her son. Oh, she did leave him with one more thing: one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child: a vote of confidence.

Skenazy's son wanted to be trusted to find his way home. So she let him. And he did it. No one kidnapped the boy. No one mugged him. We are not told whether or not he was accosted by those who sell fake Rolex watches, but we can assume if he was, he kept his wits and his twenty bucks about him.

Once this column was released, Skenazy become a hot celeb. She was the catch of the day on numerous news shows, talk shows, and news and talk shows. On many of these news ambushes she was assailed for--get this--allowing her son some independence. How dare she! Why, if everyone did that, then our kids might grow up to think for themselves, rather than have to be spoonfed by cable news on how to think about anything and everything. Shame on Skenazy. Doesn't she know that without Madison Avenue to tell us what is right for us to buy, wear, and eat we probably would cease to exist before the next ratings book came out?

Anyway, Lenore Skenazy took all of the guff she received in stride. As a matter of fact, it gave her the idea for Free Range Kids She tells us why it is not only ok but almost necessary to allow our kids to eat snow. And how that coat hangers are making us stupid. I highly recommend you check her out.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to take our 14 year old to Bloomingdales and see if, armed only with a subway map and a MetroCard, can find his way home to Tulsa.