I was asked to cover the Kid's Day at the Hoffman Associates on West Main Street. I couldn't. I was covering my own Kid's Day in Bayport.

Actually, it was my husband Walter's grand nephew Justin Karppi's first birthday. I got to hold him. He is a typical Karppi boy: tall and thin and quiet - and he is only 1. He'll be talking in long sentences in a week or two, I'm sure. That's what my daughter did. She said single words and then suddenly, long concept sentences. Not just - "There is the dog."

I am not bragging here. Honestly. I am talking about families and how it is wonderful to see the relationships between gene pools. I remember meeting my cousin George, who lived in New York, and found that we were reading the same books.

Children are just wonderful. That's why I enjoyed typing the Soccer News story on page 10. It is great to read the names and recognize the children and their families. It is such a great extended family feeling. - DFK.