For God's Sake, Find Something to DO!
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 05:41PM Did anyone notice the clickety-clack typing noise in the background during Tiger Woods' mea culpa speech?
It was the sound a typewriter makes when someone bangs away at the keys - some of you remember that clatter, don't you? It sounds downright anachronistic - I thought Lois Lane and Clark Kent were going to grab their fedoras and head over to the newsroom to get the story to the copy boy before deadline. Very strange...and distracting. What the heck, did one of the journalists/cheerleaders at the "news conference" lug their Old Royal portable typewriter to the gathering? I need this one ' splained, people!
Anyway, forget about Tiger, I can't get over the crowd of high school kids who terrorized downtown Philly last week. It happened on a weekday after school let out for the day and the students organized a little gathering on Facebook. The group grew fairly large and vocal so they were booted from a Center City mall area. Undeterred, they went on a rampage on one of the main downtown streets, hitting people, knocking down displays in a department store, etc.
For some weird reason, the whole unfortunate scene made me think of what my brother-in-law used to say to his daughters when they were young and feeling bored. "Find something to do," he would tell them in a firm but fatherly way. But I always liked that saying because it went hand in hand with the "idle hands are the devil's workshop" theory. I can relate. When I have no pending work deadlines, I tend to accomplish little in other areas of my life. I NEED something to do to function well.
Which brings me back to the school kids-gone-wild - they seem to have too much dang time on their hands. And I have a question: Who paid for their Internet or Blackberry access to Facebook - Mommy or Daddy? Then cut it off, Ma and Pa, and tell Sonny Boy or Girl to get a job to pay for their own technology. Nothing like a job to keep you from beating the crap of some innocent bystander! Yes, yes, of course, the economy is in the pits and official jobs are scare, but people still need babysitters, they still could use someone to run errands for Grandmom and they may even be willing to pay a motivated teen to clean their house, walk their dog or wash their car. I know a high school kid who made $300 last week by knocking on doors and shoveling mounds of snow, and she weighs about 100 pounds on a good day.
I fully realize that it's a complicated situation, but one possible way to avoid further melees may be to ask parents to supervise their kids' schedule a bit more. And if it turns out that some of our city's youth have enough time to squeeze-in a riot, then just maybe they also have the time to fit a part-time job or even - heaven forbid! - volunteer work into their routine.
Just a thought. Now get cracking and for God's sake, FIND SOMETHING TO DO!
Reader Comments (2)
Just got around to reading last week's blog. Frank will be so proud to have been quoted! I'm sure the girls still hear those words revirbirating in their heads. But it must have served them well - none of them seem to have a lot of idle time on their hands. Occasionally, as parents, you say or do something right. The improtant thing is to keep trying.
Nicely portrayed. Although I would not expect anything indifferent from you.