The Cowsills In Magazines





Mini-Mom Tells On Her Cowsills!
Winter 1968
16 SPEC

MINI-MOM TELLS ON HER COWSILLS!

If you've longed to know what they're REALLY like, you can find out HERE and NOW from the one who knows them BEST!



Barb










HI! I'm Barbara Cowsill, but my children call me "Mini-Mom," so you can too. 16 Magazine has asked me to tell you all about my children, so that you can get to know them better and love them as much as I do. I promised not to keep anything back and to share some of my secret thoughts with you. So here goes:



John is strictly the "Dennis The Menace" type. He's not malicious, but he's a big tease. He loves to get a rise out of someone, and he is constantly thinking of schemes. He's a typical eleven-year-old. His birthday was March 2nd. John is one inch taller than his older brother Barry, and he won't let Barry forget it!

Two words that best describe John are energy personified. He's a born actor and is constantly entertaining - both on stage and off! John is a great talker and can usually get himself out of trouble because he has great excuses.

On the serious side, John can be very constructive with his hands. He can sit for hours (only when he's alone) and cut up papers. His tools usually consist of scotch tape, glue and paper clips, and he can be very artistic. He is very patient with tedious things.

John won't admit it, but he's very fond of Susie. When they are alone, they get along fine and play together, and John is the first one to worry if Susie doesn't feel well. He even takes out her storybooks and reads to her. But if "the other guys" are around, John pretends to ignore Susie. I guess all boys his age pretend to ignore girls, but I've caught him watching them just the same!

John is very close to Barry, and they are constantly together. They love building tree huts - and anything else you can think of. John usually comes up with the brainstorm and gets Barry enthusiastic about their new project. Their favorite is building a fort in their bedroom. They use the bunk beds and one sleeps on the bottom bed and the other on the floor. They make a mess of the room, but always promise to clean up afterward.

John's ambition changes from day to day. A year ago he wanted to be a garbage man, because "they come across a lot of neat things". Now he wants to fly by himself - not in an airplane but on his own - "like Mighty Mouse or Superman". Knowing John, he just might!



Barry turned 13 on September 14th and notified us all that he is now a teenager and no longer a "little kid". Actually, Barry has always been very mature for his age. He is quiet (when not up to mischief with John), studious and very intelligent. In fact, he's an honor student at school and we are very proud of him. Barry must know the reason for everything and is always asking why? what? and how? His secret ambition is to be a surgeon. We call him our "mad scientist," because he is always inventing one thing or another.

Just before we left our home in Rhode Island to go on tour, Barry made a time machine. He used my vacuum cleaner, a record player, lights and some cartons. Susan was afraid to go inside it, but Barry and John spent days going backward and forward into time. With their imaginations, I'm sure it worked, too! I guess I was lucky I had an electric broom, since my vacuum was occupied by my two spacemen!

Barry is truly a wonderful person to have as a friend. He's like by both boys and girls, and he's always looking for new friends. This doesn't mean that he's fickle; indeed, he's very loyal to all his friends. Just the other day he asked me, "How can you tell a true friend?" because he felt that he had been deceived by someone he thought was fond of the real Barry and not just Barry the entertainer.

Barry has a terrific sense of humor and is full of adventure. He learned to scuba dive in our kitchen sink! The sink is quite large, so he put on his snorkel and John held his head under water until he learned how to breath properly. The ocean is in our backyard, and he has now progress to the real thing.

Barry is very honest; not only does he never lie - but he can't lie. Even when he's wrong, he'll admit it, and his dad and I respect him a great deal because of this. Barry gets lots of fan mail and he loves to answer it personally.














Bob


Bob is a twin, and his brother Dick is ten minutes older than Bob. They are both 18 on August 26th. Although they looked alike as infants, they are not identical twins. I always refer to him as "good old loveable Bob" - because he is just that! He is very much in control of himself except around food - he loves to eat! Bob plans every move he makes. He is meticulous and neat.

Bob is an honor student and is a member of the National and State honor society. He attends New York University and is majoring in math. He would someday like to teach math, but he would never give up show business because he love it. Bob plays organ and lead guitar and does quite a bit of songwriting, along with Bill.

Bob is quite a "ladies man," but we've been so busy that his dating has been limited during the past year - much to his disappointment. I'm sure he'll make up for it one day soon.





Bill


Bill is my oldest son. He was 19 on January 9, 1967. I think that of all our children, Bill most takes after his father. He's a good kid. He's very kind, patient and extremely responsible. He'll make a wonderful father someday, because he loves children.

Even if the rest of the family wasn't in show business, I just know Bill would have taken to it on his own. He loves it, and started writing songs when he was 14. His ambition is to someday produce records. Bill would also like to teach English and he is majoring in it at college.

The only time Bill is in charge of me is at rehearsals. We practice everyday - and he's the boss at that time! Bill is a very serious boy. He loves to read and keeps a journal of all our actvities. He'll probably write a book someday.

It takes a long time to anger Bill - in fact, I've never really seen his full temper. So play it cool with Bill, girls!




Susan


Susie is all girl! She's a love! A real live pixie who is affectionate and loving. Susie used to beg me for a sister, because she's our only girl. With six older brothers yet! But now she says she'll settle for a poodle! Susie was eight years old on May 20th.

When Susie was younger, her biggest ambition was to get on the Little League baseball team. She now plays center for the Cowsills' football team, so I think she's satisfied for the moment. She loves to fight with John and can usually be found running after Barry and John crying, "Take me with you!"

When Susie is excited, she asks permission to scream in order to let it out. She bubbles! Her secret love is Davy Jones. Her eyes fill with tears when she listens to his records, and her biggest dream is to meet him.

Susie is anxiously looking forward to her turn to "squeal" on the rest of us Cowsills. She won't tell us what she is going to say, so we'll have to wait to read it along with you. Be sure to pick up the April Issue of 16, which goes on sale Feb. if you want to get Susie's side of the story!




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