Father Knows Best, Or Does He?

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Roberto Benigni as Guido and Giorgio Cantarini as his son Joshua in "Life Is Beautiful." (Miramax)

We know some of the memorable movie fathers.  There's Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride, James Stewart as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life and Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, of course.

But where should we rank a humble bookkeeper like Guido (Roberto Benigni, pictured) willing to give everything to protect his son in Life Is Beautiful?

 

Or, for that matter, an aging lion ready to pass the jungle on to his son, or a struggling single-parent salesman fighting just to keep his son housed and fed?

 

In "Father Knows Best, Or Does He?," a fun-filled and poignant presentation enhanced with PowerPoint images and film clips and lasting about an hour, we'll focus on movie fathers, both good and, shall we say, offbeat.

 

Together, we'll strive to answer the question, Just who is the best movie father in cinematic history?

 

For availability and speaking fees, call 214-364-7364 or email [email protected].

If I'm lion, you dirty rats are dyin'

Must-have items on today's shopping list:  Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream (half gallon now only $8.99!), a big ol' bag of Halloween candy and mountain lion urine.

What, you're shocked?

Courtesy: wildlifecontrolsupplies.com

Me, too.  I can remember when a half gallon of Blue Bell was $2.99, or on sale for 3-for-$5.  That's at least a dollar less than what they're getting for a pint now.  If my math is right, there are four pints in a half gallon.  Shouldn't a pint be about $2.25?  Of course not.  That would make too much sense, and, apparently, way too little cents.

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What, that's not what shocked you?  Must be the Halloween candy.  The best bargain in town this week has to be leftover Halloween candy.  One of those giant gut-buster bags of bite-sized morsels such as BabyRuths, Whoppers, KitKats and Butterfingers, my personal favorite, are marked down to half-price now.  That means only 25 or 30 bucks a bag.