Subscribe:
RSS feed
Paul Johnson's comedy blog: I didn't get into comedy to be rich or famous. All I've ever wanted was to be loved…by somebody rich and famous.
Browsing All Posts filed under »Family«
Vacationing with the Greatsbys
The Greatsbys spent Christmas in Phuket, Thailand. After dinner with friends, Mrs. Greatsby and the children retired and I spent a lovely Christmas Eve evening on our hotel balcony overlooking the dark ocean while enjoying the distant strains of house bands entertaining Christmas Eve galas all over the island. A little known fact about Asia: […]
An Interview with Optimist Prime–Part 3
December 4, 2012
My 11-year-old son Optimist Prime has enjoyed a recent run of success as both the QB of his football team and the star of a theatrical production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We’re anxious to have him around more as these two commitments often totaled seven to eight practices/rehearsals a week, and […]
Greetings from a Mediocre Uncle
November 30, 2012
One of the benefits of living here in China so far away from my extended family in the United States is that I have an excuse for being a terrible uncle. Although I suspect my family is beginning to realize even if I lived next door to my nieces and nephews I’d still be a […]
Will Trade Time with Kids for Comedy Material
November 20, 2012
My librarian wife went out of town for work last weekend, leaving me alone with the kids and providing more evidence of how libraries tear families part. I told the kids if I was going to spend twice as much time with them in their mother’s absence, they would have to work harder to provide […]
Jealousy Thy Name is Parent
October 23, 2012
If there’s one thing I like about being a parent, that wouldn’t be much of a recommendation for parenthood, would it? But if there’s one thing I like, it’s taking joy in the achievements of my children as an emotional substitute for my own lack of accomplishments. I’m not the first parent to make this […]
In with the In Crowd–Or Else!
October 8, 2012
Our two sons recently began a new school year at a new school and while taking a walk yesterday my 11-year-old Optimist Prime told me how much he was enjoying the new group of friends he’d made. OP: I really like my new friends. They’re really interesting and creative and do stuff with their lives. […]
Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know?
September 26, 2012
My 8-year-old The Fonz is a perpetual source of non-sequiturs, interrupting conversation with sound bytes varying from the funny, “Why go to Mount Everest when you can see the top from Google Earth? It’s the same thing,” to the philosophically bizarre, “Did you know if your shadow was three-dimensional, it would open a black hole?” […]
If My Wife Were so Perfect, She’d Have Better Taste in Husbands
September 19, 2012
If there’s one thing I like about my wife…that would be a discouragingly low number. But if there’s one thing I like about my wife, I like that she likes me. There’s something intoxicatingly attractive about a woman with such good taste. She’s my biggest fan. And I wish I could return the favor. I […]
I Give Apollo Fonzarelli ‘The Talk’
September 17, 2012
Parents dread their children reaching the age when they have to give them ‘the talk’. You keep putting it off, thinking your kid isn’t old enough to be interested in such adult issues, but procrastination may put your child at risk. Yes, I couldn’t put it off any longer and this week I decided it […]
The Greatsbys Get Moving
September 3, 2012
We moved house over the weekend. We’d lived in the same house for three years and on the same street for seven, but it made more sense for us to move to another part of Shanghai after the kids recently changed schools and my wife changed jobs. Also, we’d already exhausted the neighborhood of people […]
There’s No Such Thing as a Stupid Question, Except ‘What’s a Question?’
August 20, 2012
When you grow older some truisms and sayings seem to crumble under scrutiny. I remember teachers always saying, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” Of course as an adult I’ve realized not only is there such thing as a stupid question, but in reality most questions turn out to be stupid. I now […]
Welcome to Hogwarts!
July 18, 2012
My eleven-year-old Optimist Prime is a huge Harry Potter fan, having finished the series for the fifth time just last week. If you’re familiar with the series, you know that eleven is the age Harry received a letter informing him he wasn’t an ordinary human (muggle) but was a wizard who had been accepted to […]
Recent Comments
Huffington Post Comedy
Five Times:
Columns in Time Out Shanghai Magazine
The Good Greatsby 
December 26, 2012
47