Pendragons Princess

Thom Christopher, the actor who played Hawk in the second season of “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” and Carlo Hesser in “One Life to Live”, is childfree.

The October 1990 issue of Soap Opera Digest reports that Thom, and his wife Judith, are in fact childfree by choice. This is a rather pleasant surprise, since I have always liked the Hawk character, especially the way Thom looked in those spandex tights (great hind view!). In the interview by Donna Hoke, Thom admits that with his and his wife’s busy schedule as actors, they have next to no time for taking care of kids. They have plenty of nieces and nephews, though, who they can splurge on when the chance comes. Thom also admits the reason people have children is because they feel pressured by society to do so, and that having children is a tremendous responsibility. Of course, Thom has many other responsibilities, including charity work for AIDS and the Special Olympics. Anyone with sexy, smoldering eyes like Thom’s is OK in my book, and his being childfree makes him even better. Love ya, Hawk.

http://www.popeater.com/music/article/kelly-clarkson-has-no-desire-for-kids/376529

For Clarkson, No Kids Would Not Suck

March 10, 2009
Kelly Clarkson’s plate is too chocked full of hit singles and concert dates to be thinking about actual dates or marriage right now, and the ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’ singer says in a new interview that being a rock star “is too selfish” of an enterprise for her to be a good mom.
“Oh, my God, I have no desire. I would not be a good mother,” Clarkson, 26, tells USA Today about having kids. “I used to want to, like, adopt 10 kids — because I had friends who were adopted, and I thought that was the coolest thing, to be chosen. But again, my job is too selfish.” She has a little more leeway when it comes to getting hitched some day. “I’m not against it,” she says about marriage. “If I found a guy who could handle my job, that would be cool. But I’ve dated a couple of guys who were awesome, and the celebrity part of my life and the traveling part are hard to get around.” In the meantime, Clarkson is content with keeping her personal life simple and as free from the limelight as possible, including her choice to live in a very un-Hollywood setting. “I live on a ranch in Texas and do my own thing,” she says. “And I don’t care what anyone has to say about it. My joke is that the only people I’m trying to please are myself and my fans, because they’re the ones buying my records. And I have the best, most loyal fan base ever.”
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It’s actually refreshing to read about Clarkson’s choice instead of opening up the latest celebrity fashion blog with a “So-and-so is pregnant with her fifth kid!” nonsense. Her decision to remain childfree shows that she does not follow the crowd like the rest of the sheep do. Individual thinking seems to be rare in Hollywood these days where a liberal mindset prevails. If and when Clarkson decided to get married, hopefully her partner will also be as childfree as she is. Being childfree should be the Number One discussion before getting married - even before the money discussion takes place. Evaluating why one gets married is the most important thing. Marriage is not just something “everyone does” - once it is done for that purpose, it loses its meaning, if it had any meaning to begin with. The old fashioned values of real relationships are still valued by some Americans. Marriage and parenthood no longer have that “It must be done for public approval” sanction in a nation where one should be free to make the choice of how one wants to live their life. If anything, Clarkson is not being selfish for not having kids. She knows herself well enough to make that decision. More power to her.

I had a wonderful childfree Christmas with my husband this year. We went mountain biking together and had a Christmas picnic lunch (the weather was only 57 degrees, not bad at this time of the year in the desert. So for the picnic we had it bento style: teriyaki chicken with mixed veggies, a green salad, and clementine oranges with chocolates for dessert. The sky was slightly overcast but at least it did not rain. It would have been quite a ride back home if it did - five miles bicycling. Then we had the rest of the day to ourselves in peace and quiet that can only be experienced in heaven. It was a great holiday for us.

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One famous childfree person whose philosophy is probably better known in the western world than her childfree status is Ayn Rand. Ayn was a Russian immigrant who came to the United States to become an author and screenwriter. Those familiar with her name have probably read “The Fountainhead” or some of her other works. Her philosophy known as objectivism, despite its controversiality, has actually rung true with many Americans since the philosophy is inherent in our Constitution: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Not surprisingly this philosophy is very close to that of David Seabury (”The Art of Selfishness”) and Leo Louis Martello (”How to Prevent Psychic Blackmail.”) Martello openly admired her philosophy. Objectivism is controversial of course to our Judeo-Christian heritage that demands sacrificial altruism from every living person: it states that one exists only to continually sacrifice for others, whether other appreciate the sacrifices or not, or even throw it back into your face. Objectivism states that one has a right to pursue interests and to grow as an individual person through education. Not surprisingly, Ayn rejected the collectivist mentality of the Communist Bolsheviks before she left Russia for the states. But back to her childfree status for a moment: her choice to be childfree is consistent with the objectivist philosophy. The whole notion of slaving and sacrificing for children is strictly Judeo-Christian in nature. Of course, people with kids will never admit they will never gain anything positive from having kids, but that’s normal. It is still taboo for a parent to speak ill of offspring in our society, even if Junior has an extensive rap sheet by the sixteenth birthday.

I didn’t learn anything about objectivist philosophy until my early adult years and why this philosophy is neccesary for survival. Those who become successful in life do so on objectivist principles. People who simply live only to please others will only wind up a zero, as the proverb “He who trim himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.” goes. Ricky Nelson summed it succintly in his song “Garden Party.” One really cannot please everyone so you are better off trying to please yourself through positive selfishness. The Judeo-Christianists do not like to hear that but when one takes a look at prominent preachers like Mike Murdock, Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, and Jimmy Bakker, one cannot help but wonder if these figures also subscribe to objectivism in the closet.

“Bullwinkle, do you know what an A-bomb is?”

“Sure, a bomb is what some people call our show.”

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show was anything but a bomb in the early 1960’s when this cartoon was popular on television. Created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, the cartoon centered on a number of comic situations between the now famous squirrel and moose as well as other visiting characters to the show. Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Mr. Peabody and Sherman were the show’s other guests. But did you know that at least two of the voice actors on the cartoon were childfree?

June Foray, the voice of Rocky Natasha, and Nell Fenwick, was married to Hobart Donavan, a television screenwriter until his death in 1976. June, howver, is still with us, pushing 91 years of age. June hardly needs any introduction to those who grew up in the 1960’s watching cartoons considering her highly prolific career as a voice over actress. She is in fact childfree but has owned fur children during her life and it makes sense, too - who would be able to maximize their talents the way June did and be mother to a bunch of kids at the same time. Having long admired June, I feel she is worthy of mention here for her childfree status.

Walter Tetley, the voice of Sherman, the boy owned by the dog Mr. Peabody, was another childfree actor. Sadly, Walter died in 1975 at the age of sixty but he will be remembered for Sherman as well as Andy Panda in the Walter Lantz cartoons.

These two actors show that even if one is childfree, it is still possible to be actively involved in children’s entertainment.