And you (Can you hear?) of tender years (And do you care?)
Can’t know the fears (And can you see?)
That your elders grew by (We must be free)
And so, please help (To teach your children)
Them with your youth (What you believe in)
They seek the truth (Make a world)
Before they can die (That we can live in)
song lyrics by Graham Nash
(The Mayor and Sheriff this past summer at the beach / Julie Cook / 2021
So we’ve all probably witnessed or read of the following tale…
And I’m probably already going viral as we speak…
So let me set the scene…
My husband and I ran into a nearby Target today as I needed to pick up
a few items.
This particular Target is larger than the one we had in our previous community.
I think they call it a super Target.
I really don’t always think bigger is better but that’s just me.
So while we were cruising up and down the various aisles, grabbing what we needed,
I heard a loud ruckus heading our way.
Loud laughter and what sounded like a basketball bouncing up and down on the floor.
What the heck???
My gaze was now fixed toward the end of the aisle as I was waiting to see
what this growing crescendo of noise was all about…
And that’s when I saw them…
5 young teens were kicking a soccer ball down, in and out, the various aisles.
Loud, pushing, shoving, laughing with one another while all acting a fool!
And that’s when it happened.
Just like a cat who bristles and puffs up at some approaching adversary,
I felt myself bowing up for a fight.
I turned my gaze toward these boys.
My eyes narrowed with a steely glare…and that’s when I felt that
familiar out of body voice ready to howl from a place from deep within…
I was in full blown honey badger teacher mode, ready to pounce.
And it only quadrupled when I saw the phone in one of the boy’s hand.
He was recording their reckless antics…
all the while, the soccer ball was kicked into a shelf full of
shaving cream cans…all of which came tumbling off the shelf,
loudly crashing to the floor.
Manager???
Can we say “MANAGER”???!!!!
Where in the world is some sort of manager????
What of parents?????
Where are the parents?????
This reminded me of my first year teaching…
it was the last day of school and the kids broke out all the
fire extinguishers while the principal locked himself in his office.
Bedlam…
And this was just that…bedlam.
The inmates were running the asylum.
They saw me seeing them–and my glare was now laser focused and
they knew it…as their laughter only grew.
This “incident” would no doubt hit their insignificant tik tok postings
showcasing just how fun it can be to go into a store and act like complete
immature horse’s ass while others look on in disgust.
So right when I was ready to spring into action, ready to snatch up some hooligans
by the scruff of their necks…
my husband’s voice broke my concentration...”Don’t even think about it!”
I felt his hand grab my shirt, nudging me in the opposite direction of the boys.
“Let’s go check out.”
He knows ‘teacher mode’ all too well.
So my thoughts today turn to parents.
I was a stupid teenager once.
I was also a parent to a teenager
I was also a high school teacher for 31 years.
Parents…please, please….teach your children well…
and if you do, no one will have to be that stupid unruly horse’s ass.
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
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