My child arrived just the other day
Came into the world in the usual way
There were planes to catch, bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
He was talking 'fore I knew it and as he grew,
He said "I'm gonna be like you, yeah, You know I'm gonna be like you"
My son turned ten just the other day
He said "Thanks for the ball dad, come on, let's play
Could you teach me to throw?",
I said, "Not today I got a lot to do", he said "That's OK"
He walked away and he smiled and
It said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah,
you know I'm gonna be like him"
The cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and a man on the moon
When you comin' home son, I don't know when
We'll get together then,
You know we'll have a good time then
When he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just have to say
I'm proud of you, could you sit for a while
He shook his head and he said with a smile
What I�d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please
Long since retired, my son moved away
I called him up just the other day
I'd like to see you, if you don't mind
He said: I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle and the kids got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you dad, it�s been sure nice talking to you.
And as I hung up the phone is occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me!
The cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and a man on the moon
When you comin' home dad, I don't know when
We'll get together then,
You know we'll have a good time then
Cats in the Cradle
"Hey Vince."
The voice awakens me from a light doze with a jolt. I look around for the source of the voice. "What is Emil?"
"That kid of yours has an interview in this magazine." He grins at me. Emil adores Shane, having no family of his own; he�s adopted Shane as his own. Shane loves it, sometimes when he visits me he spends more time with Emil than with me. He wheels across to my armchair and places the magazine on my leg. "Here you go Vinnie."
I flick through the magazine eagerly till Shane�s face smirks out at me. It�s a spread on how children of celebrities handle being stars in their own right and their relationship with celebrity parents. It gives me a vaguely uneasy feeling, which I ignore Curiously I read on as Shane talks candidly about his position at the WWF and how his work affect his family life.
"My father was very busy in my childhood years with the company. There were a lot of things that he wasn�t present for that I wished he could�ve been there to see. I don�t resent him for it, I understand - well now anyway - how busy he was and that he did everything possible to spend time with me. " McMahon says thoughtfully. "But you try explaining that to a 5-year-old kid who wants nothing more out of life for his father to be present at his Christmas pageant. At the time I believed that the company was more important to him than I was. I never want my kids to feel that disappoint of hearing the words �I�m too busy.� I know from experience that to a kid, those words can mean �You are not as important to me as what I�m doing right now.� No matter where I am, if my children want me to be there for something, I will drop everything to be there."
I stare at the page, appalled. I had no idea Shane felt like that. Why hadn�t he said anything? I had always thought that we�d had a fairly close relationship, especially once he began working in front of the cameras. I know I was harsh with him at times, but I was preparing him for the real world, for life without my guiding hand.
"For me, it was an accepted fact that Stephanie, my little sister was Dad�s favorite. For a while I believed that because I wasn�t a girl, I didn�t hold the same importance in his eyes, especially when he made the effort to be there for Steph when she wanted him. Looking back, I know now that before my sister was born, the company needed the boss to be there all the time, but by the time Stephanie was born Dad could afford to take time off as he saw fit. If I�d said anything, then he probably would�ve made the time to attend events that were important to me. But by then I�d become accustomed to him not being there and even though it hurt to look into the crowd and only see Mom clapping and cheering, it hurt less than knowing I�d made the effort to invite him and be told �I�m too busy.� It�s something I held against Stephanie for a long time and I confess I made life hell for her because of it - in your stereotypical attention needing child way."
~ Is Shane in therapy? ~ I wonder as I turn the page slowly. It sounded like it. I doubted Shane could analyze himself so accurately. Frowning, I read on.
"Dad never gave me a lot of credit for anything. I was on the booking team and any of my suggestions were automatically ignored. I was good friends with one of the wrestlers who was also on the team and I soon learnt to go straight to Hunter with my ideas instead of presenting them at the meetings. Of course Hunter was never shot down and quite a few of his ideas that were put into practice were actually mine. It hurt that my father would shoot down my ideas, then two days later gush over the same idea from someone else."
Had I really done that? I asked myself in horror. I�d always thought Shane wasn�t very book smart. Unlike Steph, he hadn�t come home from school excitedly with good grades. Because of that, I�d just assumed that he didn�t get any. I struggle to remember what was said about Shane at parent teacher interviews. I don�t actually remember attending any - I was probably too busy.
"I was always determined not to follow in my fathers footsteps as far as my family went. But those years working under him had made me vow that I would one day surpass him as far as the company went. It was a hell of a legacy to live up to. Just before she died my mother said to me �Vince wants to leave a legacy for you to live up to, to bring out the best of who you can be. He just doesn�t want your accomplishments to eclipse his own.� I never forgot that. What Dad never realized is that he turned the world of professional wrestling around, he�s pretty much singled handedly responsible for making the industry what it is today. That�s something I could never hope to rival."
There�s a tug at my heartstrings as I realize the truth in Shane�s statements - I never made the time for him as a child. He�s grown up with the impression that the WWF was more important to me than he was. I remember numerous phone calls to Linda - �Shane�s started crawling� �Shane took his first steps today� �Shane said his first word today.� I wasn�t there for any of the important events in his life, but I had dropped every thing for Stephanie. No wonder the poor kid distanced himself from me. He�s coming to see me on Thursday, I�ll talk to him about it then.
Nurse Lyon comes in. "Vince there�s a phone call for you. It�s that handsome son of yours."
Eagerly I get up and move towards the office. I may be getting on in years but I�m still fit. With a shaking hand I pick up the phone. "Shane?"
"Hey Dad it�s me! I�m just calling to say I won�t be able to make it on Thursday. Shanice has tonsillitis, I think Jonathan�s getting the flu, Marissa has to fly to Australia to promote the upcoming PPV down there. I�m really sorry."
"That�s fine son, do you know when you�ll be able to come?" My heart feels like lead. Shane�s voice sounds slightly regretful as he replies "No idea Pops. Hopefully while the kids are on summer holidays."
"But that�s months away!"
"I know, I�m really sorry it just can�t be helped. Things are flat strap at the moment." There is a moment of silence and I gather up the testicular fortitude to talk to him about the article.
"Shane I-"
"Shanice!" he shouts suddenly. "Go back to bed!" with sigh he returns his attention to me. "I gotta go. Jonathan is throwing up somewhere; Shanice is refusing to go back to bed which is where she should be and Marissa is screaming at them both. I�ll be in touch. Say hi to Emil for me."
He hangs up. I walk back to the rec room and settle back into my armchair. What goes around comes around. I never had time for Shane when he was a child, now he hasn�t got the time for me. The sobs erupt as deep down I realize that I deserve this and it�s a situation of my own making.