Many of us try to do a better job of parenting than our parents.

And The Idiot finds it particularly gratifying to watch his 33-year-old son, who was raised multiculturally and bilingually in the south of France and is now an actor in Hollywood, tenderly tending to Baby Gaga, his seven-month-old daughter and The Idiot’s granddaughter.

Although The Idiot tried to be an open, supportive, participatory and hugging father (in contrast to his encouraging father and stepfather who were both, like most American men in the 1950s, products of an era when active male parenting at babyhood was rare), his son Luke improved the performance.

Luke and his wife Samantha raise Baby Gaga trilingually (Luke speaks to her in French, Baby Gaga’s equally evolved mother speaks to her in the Queen’s English, and their nanny speaks only Spanish) and taught her to read, do jigsaw puzzles and play Scrabble before she was six months old.

The Idiot will let the photos tell the story.

First, The Idiot as slightly evolved father.

The Idiot as father.

The Idiot as father.

The Idiot as father.

The Idiot as father.

The Idiot as father.

The Idiot as father.

The Idiot as grandfather.

Second, The Idiot’s son as the more evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s now seven-month-old granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

The Idiot’s son Luke is the evolved father of Baby Gaga, The Idiot’s granddaughter.

“All my parental instincts come from having you as a role model,” said Luke.

Ah, parental evolution! Darwin might be proud. The Idiot is!

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."