James Mercer Quotes

I had the best of both worlds when I was a kid. I'd spend a quiet week with my mum, then I'd go to my dad's property in the Adelaide Hills, where there were all these kids and animals running around.

What is a normal childhood? We weren't rich, we were pretty middle-class. My dad survived from job to job; with him taking care of so many relatives, he couldn't save any money.

When I was a child, the thing I wanted more than anything was to grow up and live in one house. Since my dad was in the Navy, that wasn't possible. Instead, I lived in a different home every couple of years.

At 19, I went to live in the Philippines for three years as a U.S. Air Force 'dependent spouse.' I lived off-base in Angeles City and had to haul water for drinking and cooking.

It was a fairly happy childhood. My father was working away, and my mum brought up five kids all on her own.

My parents moved to American Samoa when I was three or four years old. My dad was principal of a high school there. It was idyllic for a kid. I had a whole island for a backyard. I lived there until I was eight years old and we moved to Santa Barbara.

I'm from Connecticut. My Mom is an army brat, and my Dad is a navy brat. My childhood was fun. My parents are still together. My childhood was pretty carefree.

My dad didn't drive - the only dad I knew who didn't.

I appreciate my journey, but I don't want that for my kid. Not any of it. It has nothing to do with whether I liked my childhood. I really did. But as a parent, that isn't the childhood that I'd provide.

I think Dad didn't really treat us like children; he treated us more like little adults. We were good kids.

I went to school on a military base in Germany. I got a lot of my clothes at the army surplus store.

I wasn't against becoming a dad: I'd had a good childhood, as childhoods go, and as role models, my imperfect parents were as good as or better than most.

What I think is remarkable about my mum and dad is they had no interest in films, really. None.

Dad was in the British Army and my mom was in the Royal Air Force, so both of my parents believed in discipline.

I just went to your typical public schools, and my dad would take us to the movies every week, or he'd buy scalped tickets to San Antonio Spurs games. I remember I was four or five years old and my parents, who were very young, took us to see The Police in Austin, and Iggy Pop opened.

My dad sat me in front of the TV, and instead of putting on Nick Jr. or something, he put me in front of 'Jailhouse Rock' and all the Elvis movies.

My parents got married when I was 12.

They have had such a crazy life living with me as their dad. Not crazy but different from their friends.

I was one of six kids in a single-parent household.

When I was young, I was very shy and quiet, because we moved all the time. My dad was in the Navy, so we moved every two years.

Both my mum and dad were great readers, and we would go every Saturday morning to the library, and my sister and I had a library card when we could pass off something as a signature, and all of us would come with an armful of books.

I came from a Halloween-friendly home. My dad, Spencer, was a U.S. Marine captain. But when it came to Halloween, my dad had a soft spot. He would take his three sons and friends on escapades on Halloween night.

When I was young, I didn't like going to school, but I loved my dad. He was my professor.

Mum and Dad paid me 50 pence, which was a lot of money when I was 8 years old, not to dye my hair.

My kids gotta understand: they gotta make a sacrifice, having a superstar dad.