"A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
— Vito Corleone, The Godfather
You're a man of 'igh position
Esteemed by your peers
And when your little tykes are cryin'
You 'aven't time to dry their tears
And see them grateful little faces
Smilin' up at you
Because their dad, 'e always knows
Just what to do
You've got to grind, grind, grind
At that grindstone
Though child'ood slips like sand through a sieve
And all too soon they've up grown
And then they've flown
And it's too late for you to give
Esteemed by your peers
And when your little tykes are cryin'
You 'aven't time to dry their tears
And see them grateful little faces
Smilin' up at you
Because their dad, 'e always knows
Just what to do
You've got to grind, grind, grind
At that grindstone
Though child'ood slips like sand through a sieve
And all too soon they've up grown
And then they've flown
And it's too late for you to give
— Bert, "A Man Has Dreams", Mary Poppins
Thane: You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died.
Kolyat: You weren't there when she was alive. Why should you be there when she died?!
Kolyat: You weren't there when she was alive. Why should you be there when she died?!
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you coming home, dad? I don't know when
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you coming home, dad? I don't know when
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then
— Harry Chapin, "Cat's in the Cradle"
Jotaro: Hey, Jolyne... How's it going?
Jolyne: Fuck you, dad! You leave me and mom to go out adventuring in your fucking ocean with your fucking narwhals and then come and visit me in fucking prison like none of that ever happened? What do you have to say for yourself!?
Jotaro: ... I made fajitas?
Jolyne: Fuck you, dad! You leave me and mom to go out adventuring in your fucking ocean with your fucking narwhals and then come and visit me in fucking prison like none of that ever happened? What do you have to say for yourself!?
Jotaro: ... I made fajitas?
— Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Abridged: The Mother of Jolyne Kujo
"You just keep going out fighting all these causes. But I don't want a fighter, I want my mom."
Gul Dukat: I'd promised to take him to the amusement center in Lakarian City. He always wanted to go, but I never had the time. I told him, "This year will be different, Mekor. This year I will make the time."
Capt. Benjamin Sisko: I had the same experience with Jake. At that age, they never understand, do they? You just hope that, one day later, they'll look back and say, "Now I understand. Now I know why he did that."
Dukat: When my son looks back on this day, the only thing he'll remember is that a Federation officer, on a Federation ship invaded his home, and kept his father away from him on his eleventh birthday, and he won't look back with understanding. He'll look back with hatred, and that's sad.
Capt. Benjamin Sisko: I had the same experience with Jake. At that age, they never understand, do they? You just hope that, one day later, they'll look back and say, "Now I understand. Now I know why he did that."
Dukat: When my son looks back on this day, the only thing he'll remember is that a Federation officer, on a Federation ship invaded his home, and kept his father away from him on his eleventh birthday, and he won't look back with understanding. He'll look back with hatred, and that's sad.
"My son got mad 'cause I worked all the time/He grew up to be a jerk, just like me!"
—Tim Hawkins, "Short Songs" an abbreviated version of "Cat's in the Cradle"
“Yeah, we got a lot of these bullshit movies in the 90’s! Movies where an aging comedian plays a workaholic dad who learns through supernatural contrivance that he’s a worthless human being unless he spends EVERY WAKING MOMENT with his DAMN WEINER KIDS! These films reinforce the bottomless the bottomless egos of the damn weiner kids of the baby boomers!”
—The Horror Guru, in Some Jerk with a Camera’s episode on The Haunted Mansion (2003)
"Hey, kiddo. I know I promised I'd make it to your baseball game. I'm sorry I lied to you. I guess my work is just more important to me than you are, my only son. The ironic thing is I work for a toy company, and yet I can't seem to relate to the innocence of youth. Hey! But you get to see me on the weekends! And who lets you eat Pop-Tarts for dinner and watch TV all day? Buy, buy, buy! Sell, sell, sell! Gimme a minute, kiddo, I'm busy here. What is this? You wrote me a letter that says, 'Daddy, I love you'? I realize now that I need to focus more on my child and less on my job. You know what? Mr. Johnson, you can take tour presentation and shove it! Come on, son. Let's go have a catch with each other."
