Teens Get Creamed

Concerning the wonderful 4/14 article, "Stepparenting teens," I want to encourage your paper to drop "blended families" from your editorial lexicon. Those of us who work in the field have labored for decades to encourage the use of "stepfamily" and "remarried family."

teens get creamed

The problem with "blended family" is that it furthers the "Brady Bunch" myth that stepfamilies can become just like first-time families if they just do it "right." The opposite is true. In fact, I am fond of saying that when stepfamilies "blend" too quickly, somebody always gets creamed.

A surprising winner in the markets has been the much-abused Ma Bell. Shares of AT&T got creamed last year as the company admitted its strategy of buying up cable companies and trying to cross-sell broadband services had been a bust.

When CEO Michael Armstrong announced he would break the company up, the shares were languishing in the high teens. The stock has now gained more than 30 percent in 2001 as vultures buy up shares, betting that the pieces are worth more than the whole. It closed yesterday at $22.67, down 94 cents. 041b061a72