ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

A buddy of mine sent me a picture the other day. It was a spoof about airport security. Around the Big House we are talking about flying to see our son across the puddle, I am taking a keener interest in all the troubles about flying the less-less-than-friendly skies.

Now that the thugs have latched onto the technology that lets them make a bomb out of something that looks like a bottle of perfume or alcoholic beverage, well the gig is up for anyone, including myself who wants to carry on board any container. In the frenzy of it all, the Brits were not even allowed to carry anything on board. That rule soon relaxed but it spawned said picture. It supposedly was a queue for the next flight out of Heathrow and it showed a sea of people standing naked with their clothes at their ankles. I suppose it could be one way to assure us all that no one was sneaking something illicit on board.

Which brings me to the subject at hand; why do so many of us have to be put out to solve a problem? And it isn’t just those who are flying who are being put out. What do you think this is costing all tax payers?

Now I see our border gendarmes are going to carry sidearms. I’m not big on weapons. I think they are necessary for our military to protect our country but I have a real problem with having to outfit every one in blue with a piece when all that really is needed is the chance to use a swift kick to the rear end of some of these thugs. But in these times, physical force is frowned upon so I guess I have to get with the times.

However, think about this for a moment. In the words of Sean Connery in ‘the Untouchables’, “when they pull out a knife, you pull out a gun, when they pull out a gun…”you know the rest. I think it finished with “…that’s the Chicago way.”

So I am ranting away at something both you and I can’t stop. It’s inevitable. Violence leads to more violence. Look at what we see on TV when the cameras go to some Middle Eastern setting. Car bombs blowing up right on your screen. Suicide bombers threaten our soldiers each day. ‘If it bleeds it leads’ was the saw we used when I was in the news room. There’s more blood in the opening shots of each news cast than we would see around the chopping block when it was time to dress chickens. Kind of hardens us to the world around us.

Today’s yarn has two stories within it. Both stories come back to a simple point I want to make. Lead by example.

The second story is true (why would I make this one up?) Leave it to me to try to run interference with a ragamuffin who needed a whole lot of guidance. My better 7/8ths and I went to the Big Smoke for a couple days away from the Big House. We rode the subway a lot because it gets you to where you want to go without giving your life over to a fellow who got his cab license out of a Cracker Jacks box. Anyway, just as our train was coming to our station, the ragamuffin finished his can of pop and promptly threw it on the floor in front of the exit doors. As I was getting up to get off, I reached down and picked up the can and gave it back to the ragamuffin. I suggested strongly that the can doesn’t belong
on the floor so put it where it belongs. He repeated his action and this time, flung it more demonstratively than anything else to make sure I knew he was defying me.

Well, the short of this story was, we had to get off the subway, I left feeling this kid needed more guidance than I had time to give which is about the same amount his parents gave him.

The trouble we have in this world today is that we all think an issue is someone else’s problem or someone else’s fault. We let our children go down paths we would never have thought of going when we were that age. And trust me, there are so many more paths to go down and so many ways they can fall prey to serious trouble.

After seeing how that ragamuffin regarded me, I thought, there’s got to be a story in here somewhere and sure enough there is.

We all need to keep a much closer eye on how children are brought up, keep them healthy and teach them respect. They need to respect their world around them so it will be good to them.

It is no wonder that some of these youngsters fall off the wagon and run afoul of the law with hair-brained ideas about destruction of property and human lives. It’s because a parent somewhere did not care enough to be an example.