Saturday, July 14, 2007

What's D'Amata? Never Too Late to Start Over; Not Even at 70 Years Old


Good parents come in all shapes, sizes and ages! Nancy Grace will soon be a new mother. Similarly, Former Senator Alfonse D'Amato, who will be 70 years old, will soon be a new father.
D'Amato, who turns 70 on Aug. 1, is expecting a child in February. D'Amato's relatively young wife, Katuria D'Amato, is 41. The former Senator went on record as saying, "If you had told me this prior to getting married, I would have said you're out of your mind," The D'Amatos will have been married three years as of next week. The New York Republican has four adult children from his previous marriage and 14 grandchildren.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow, congrats.

Anonymous said...

who would have thunk it

colleency said...

Anybody else have any concerns that Dad most likely won't be around to see the kid graduate from middle school, much less high school?

Granted, there are no guarantees in life. Plenty of people having kids in their 20's don't live long enough to offer guidance and support during the kids' formative years, and turbulent teens. Still -

I hope Senator Al has another 'father figure' in the wings, ready to check in when Al checks out - maybe one of his sons, or grandsons.

(is this a case of 'Ah, sweet life! sweet love! new beginnings!' - or another example of ego and selfishness taking precedence over common sense?)

Anonymous said...

There are a lot of good single mothers who function as both father and mother. The child will be fine. Mom is only 41.

Virginia

colleency said...

Agreed - I know single parents (male and female) who are outstanding parents. None are single parents by choice, all are single by circumstances beyond their control. All would agree it's easier with two parents.

I'm not convinced that having a child at age 70 - with the likelihood of the child losing it's father while still young - is fair to the child.

Anonymous said...

Now days so many babies are born out of wedlock or to couples who split after a few years that I think it is no big deal. What is unusual these days is for a kid to graduate at age 18 after being raised in the same home as mom and dad.

Barb

Anonymous said...

Wow, at a time when many can't get it up, he is getting it done.


Jan

Ms Calabaza said...

This child will be fine. There's some money, plenty of family and tradition and this child is wanted. I worry much more about children having children (usually poor and uneducated) and mothers having various kids with different men. . . What ever happened to the PILL?

Legal Pub said...

I agree Ms. Calabaza. The child is born to camelot and will be well cared for. But given the age, does it make Ms. Calabaza think it is time to raise another child? Starting over at any age is difficult. But at least with age, hopefully we learned from our parenting mistakes that we made in our youth.

colleency said...

Not to be obnoxious, but in the interest of inquiry and debate ...

What am I not understanding here?!

Yup, D'Amoto's child will be financially secure, no doubt about it - but it takes more than financial security to be a parent. (hello, Paris?!)

Does parenthood have a 'best before ..." date? - Is a person EVER too old? 75? 80? Posthumously, with frozen sperm?

If there IS a 'too late' date, WHY is it too late?

IMHO, parenthood is a commitment of time. It's creating Life, inviting another Soul into this world, and promising to be there until this new little person is ready to be launched into the world to create their own life.

At age 70, I don't see that there's a whole lot of time left to invest. (not to mention quality of parenthood issues - can he play 'tickle wrestle'? teach how to throw a baseball? how to ride a bike?) Undoubtedly, the child will have the best 'mannies' money can buy ...

Certainly, children having children is tragic; and certainly, with age comes the wisdom to be (hopefully) a better parent, I'm just sayin' - you gotta BE there.

Legal Pub said...

Colleency, Bill
Barnes was 72 when he kicked the butt of a 27 year old pick pocket. Who knows how good of shape D'Amato is in, but I suspect pretty good.

No, it is not ideal. But today is a new age. The nuclear family has become the norm. My bet is D'Amato has another 15 years of quality life left...

Scarlett Pumpkin said...

I agree with Colleen. Even if he has 15 years of quality life, what then? After those fifteen years, will he even remember who the kid is, if he has lost his faculties due to age? Is it fair that the child will have to spend his teenage years visiting dad in a rest home? Yes, the "who said life is fair?" line comes to mind, but when you have a kid, I think a good parent tries to give that child the absolute best head start they can. Money doesn't necessarily ensure that, and since when has money taken the place of parents? How active could they be in their child's life? Maybe they're set in life, have money, have plenty of resources. But just because one can have children, doesn't mean one should.

Ms Calabaza said...

well there you go again . . .

Colleency and Jessica,

If you notice I mentioned that the child would be well financially as just one factor. Obviously this child was an "accident". What is the solution? Abort him/her. I think not. This child is WANTED. Dad may not be around after 10-15 years, but mom and others who love him will. I know many kids who have living parents that are useless . . and not around even though they are alive. You guys are just too stressed out because I've been off-line for a few days . . . chill!

Legal Pub said...

You all have good points. Ms. C. picked up on the unspoken topic, abortion. I generally avoid this topic. But what is the alternative for unplanned pregnancies? Adoption? Abortion? Guardianship?

I have a physican friend who sincerely believes that people will soon routinely be living to age 100. If so, the child will be 30 when his dad dies...

I doubt this was planned. At this age it is very rare to conceive a child. Now that the child is on its way, celebration seems to be the best option. And if my friend is right, D'Amato will be around for a long time to be a father...

colleency said...

The child was an accident?! - I figured it was a 'trophy child', proving Al's verility. (I've met many 'older' women pregnant by IVF, and just figured that was the case here.)

Who knows! (haven't spoken to Al in a bazillion years - since he was Assistant Supervisor in the Town of Hempstead, NY) -

Mazeltov!

My 'issue' is, was, and always will be, what's best for the kid - an issue very close to the heart of Ms. Calabasa, who deals daily with the fallout of children created for the wrong reasons (or for no reasons) -

Our hearts are in the same place - squarely planted in the kid's corner. Despite that - eh, this one we see differently.

I still love you!

And YES, you need to be online more! ; )

Anonymous said...

Never too late to start being a good Dad. Word to the wise! Love your kids while you can...

Anonymous said...

I would get a blood/DNA test just to make sure...