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My mom bought me my first lighter when I was 6, right after dad bought me a hunting knife.

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Also, note the total uselessness of the fathers in many stories. Cinderella's father is blind to the mistreatment of his beloved daughter by his horrible second wife; Nemo's father is an anxiety-addled twit; the kids who grow up in those books in Minnesota (I can never remember the name of the series) have a dad who is always away on business; Jane and Elizabeth's father, Mr. Bennet, is as ineffectual as they come (luckily, Elizabeth manages to marry someone quite unlike papa; although Lydia ended up with a cad and Jane, a gay). Perhaps some authors are working out their issues with daddy?

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And what you say about his company
Is what you say about society.

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A free web-based service called "Google." It has a relatively simple interface that's easy to learn. You type some text -- say, "Astrid name origin" -- into the window, and hit "Enter" on your keyboard, and within seconds it gives you list of websites of some relevance to your query. It's a great service. I wish I'd thought of it. Someone is going to make a lot of money with it, I'm thinking. Do you want the link?

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Indeed. That makes sense as well.

I have a hard time with children's movies. A few weeks ago, I watched Spirit with my nephew and couldn't stop crying about 2/3 of the way into the movie because it was so sad. My nephew is a little trickster, too. He kept saying "don't worry, Auntie [me], it's a happy ending." But then, he said "Actually, I just *think* it's a happy ending, it's probably a happy ending." I can safely report that it was indeed a happy ending and that my nephew and I are still on speaking terms.

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The girl in Labyrinth had a father and an evil stepmother. The Princess Bride appears to have been orphaned. The Little Princess was orphaned. Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Ariel (I'm so very, very excited that the Little Mermaid is going to be rereleased on DVD next month) only had their dads. Alladin, orphaned. Cinderella, evil stepmother. Snow White, evil stepmother. Sleeping Beauty, parents cursed. The Land Before Time dinosaurs, orphaned. Bambi, orphaned. The Lion King, orphaned.

Wendy in Peter Pan had both parents, though Peter appears to be orphaned.

ETA: Dumbo has a mom, but I can't watch the movie because of what happens to her. I've never seen Bambi for similar reasons. And I was traumatized by the mothers' deaths in the Land Before Time.

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You're going to hell.

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Damn you.

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Ariel didn't have a mom, but her dad was on the ball.

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On the other hand: No mercury poisoning!

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Nah. It's just been a few years since I've read it.

I've moved on to more grown-up literature, like My Darling, My Hamburger.

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I had Flinty's mom. And Penske's dad used to come on to me, but ineffectually.

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Or too busy. But, sometimes, the great instigator of adventure -- Dads in particular get to play that role.

Danny, The Champion of the World. Great case in point. (I love Roald Dahl, except not his freaky adult books)

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In Land of the Lost, it was Dad who caused them to be stuck among the sleestaks. You can just see their mom at home, pacing and seething and cursing her luck for having such a dolt of a husband. Hmm, maybe Land of the Lost was really a story about a custody dispute.

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Okay I was wrong. not Heloise but, "Eloise at the Plaza" I think she is orphaned? And was harriet the spy orphaned?