Casual Conversation

A casual conversation with the council repair man through my office window yesterday reminded me of the current Capricorn season. The repair man was removing a steel mesh security grid over my window. Apparently thieves tried to break in the previous day by cutting a hole in the mesh.

I had just finished a client who is currently having problems with the authorities. The client is only thirteen years old; he has amassed a long list of authorities he currently fights against.

Mother -  Father – Teachers – Policemen – Juvenile Justice Teams – Prison Guards – Judges – Child Mental Health services.

The council repair man discussed his “old school” views on parenting and how children’s problems start at home. Through the hole in the security window he described how he would thrash the living daylights out of his son if his kid was ever caught stealing. He described how kids of this era are too lazy and that holiday boredom resulted with vandalism to council property.

The council repair man expressed his views in a confident and authoritative manner. In my view he had some very good ideas about parenting and the youth of today. Our casual conversation continued for some time as he discussed his own thirteen year old son’s reluctance to fix his bicycle. The council man is ok to help his son fix the bike -  but only if the son asks for help. The father is being firm rather than rescuing his boy. He knows that the boy will sorely miss out on the fun cycling excursion with his busted bike.

I never really like situations that end in a kind of  “failure”.  I am ok that one learns from their negative experiences in life however there must be other interventions that avoid problematic situations such as the ones my young client has escalated to?

In my mind I was hoping the council repair man would once again offer to his son “that he was good to help fix the bike if thats what he wished”

Father Figure

The Capricorn Sun represents the traditional father. He is practical, patient and a good listener. He is also firm with boundaries and rules in a traditional sense of father-hood.  He can be overbearing and bossy at times when he expresses his autocratic need for control. The Capricorn father has his unbending views on most matters in life and seems to block any understandings to his own foibles. There is however a soft and sensitive part of his personality where he looks for ways he can do things differently. He needs to arrive at new understandings in his life through practical direction. He needs to do things in his own way.

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Elvis Presley did things in his own way

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So on the eve of Elvis’s birthday I give you an excerpt of  some lyrics and a song appropriate for the sign of Capricorn.

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A little less conversation, a little more action please
All this aggravation ain’t satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me
Satisfy me baby

Happy Birthday Elvis, happy birthdays Capricorn Dads

Kingsley