Jim
Guest
Here is another reason that I love to live here...
Yesterday was my son's 14th birthday. Today, while I was at work, my wife put on a celebration of the anniversary of his birth. That means that she spent all last night making tamales and pozole, cleaning the house and yard and then today running around picking up kids, organizing things and generally being the great children's servent that many of us become on birthdays.
Unbenownst to us, my son had decided to make this a simulated war with airsoft guns. OK, no problem, just keep them out of the house and wear some eye protection, right? Well, I guess that worked for awhile but a few of his friends went off the reservation.
4 of his friends went out walking around with their little orange tipped weapons, and eventually, one of them shot a cotton candy vendor in the arm (I'm not kidding). The guy got mad and somehow, after the kids had returned to my house, the cops showed up.
The police, armed with real guns, politely asked if they could come in our yard, dogs barking, and very easily identified the guilty parties (the boys admitted it before being asked). The boys were then put in the squadcar and taken away to parts unknown.
I got home about 15 minutes after the dust settled. Before I could even find out who the kids were or think about how I was going to explain anything to their parents, the police brought them back and said that the boys had learned their lesson, but not to let them do it again.
I took advantage of the situation to give my kids a decent lecture and then thought about how much BS this would have caused in the USA.
Sometimes I think that less is more and I always think that common sense should prevail.
Yesterday was my son's 14th birthday. Today, while I was at work, my wife put on a celebration of the anniversary of his birth. That means that she spent all last night making tamales and pozole, cleaning the house and yard and then today running around picking up kids, organizing things and generally being the great children's servent that many of us become on birthdays.
Unbenownst to us, my son had decided to make this a simulated war with airsoft guns. OK, no problem, just keep them out of the house and wear some eye protection, right? Well, I guess that worked for awhile but a few of his friends went off the reservation.
4 of his friends went out walking around with their little orange tipped weapons, and eventually, one of them shot a cotton candy vendor in the arm (I'm not kidding). The guy got mad and somehow, after the kids had returned to my house, the cops showed up.
The police, armed with real guns, politely asked if they could come in our yard, dogs barking, and very easily identified the guilty parties (the boys admitted it before being asked). The boys were then put in the squadcar and taken away to parts unknown.
I got home about 15 minutes after the dust settled. Before I could even find out who the kids were or think about how I was going to explain anything to their parents, the police brought them back and said that the boys had learned their lesson, but not to let them do it again.
I took advantage of the situation to give my kids a decent lecture and then thought about how much BS this would have caused in the USA.
Sometimes I think that less is more and I always think that common sense should prevail.
) but it's still a good story about the positives that can occur when adults behave like adults and use children's own actions as the basic for valuable life's lessons...