Kids these days...
Andy and I have found a new joy. We take our Skip-Bo and go to the Starbucks just a ways away. We grab a cup of coffee and go outside to the patio to enjoy. There's a restaurant called Mojito (mmm!) across the way that hires live music for the weekend dinner crowd. Two weeks ago was fantastic, so fantastic that we went back this past weekend!
Andy was waiting for me to finish my play, just looking around at the nightlife. He turned to me and asked if I had seen the guy and girl that had just walked into the Starbucks. I had, the girl, mid teens, wearing really tight, short shorts, belly hanging out, and a really low cut, tight, spaghetti strap tank top. Need not mention her milk-jugs were popping out. She had to re-adjust the baggage about a dozen times while waiting for her venti green tea frappaccino with extra whip-cream. We were two games in when they came outside and sat at the table next to us. They immediately got out their cigarettes and started chain-smoking. (they couldn't have been older than 17) SO ATTRACTIVE!! They weren't especially annoying us for a good half hour or so (about five cigarettes down, plenty more to go), at least, not until they were joined by two of their obviously stoned friends. The four of them were sitting there talking, making jokes, and just enjoying each others company on a Saturday night. Cool, quality time is good. At least they weren't out drinking and driving..
The guitarist takes song requests and performs a lot covers. Stairway to Heaven was one of them. And this is the song that started it all. I know this song has a demonic correlation when accompanied with marijuana, but it's what this kid did and said that made me lose TOTAL respect for he and his friends. (as if the cigarettes and being high wasn't enough.) The loud mouth of the group started singing his own song. But this song only had one word. This word was Satan. It was driving Andy and I nuts, and got us really fumed. Andy turned around and told the kid to knock it off, its not funny, really disrespectful, and annoying. The kid's only response was, "oh I'm sorry, am I ruining your little card game?". The rest of our time there was spent being irritated, offended, and really on edge. I know I wasn't concentrating on the game, I was trying to keep myself in my chair and my mouth shut. Pretty sure the same went for Andy. We played one more game, packed up and went to the car.
I couldn't help but think for the rest of the evening how incredibly disrespectful some kids are. I know each generation has their own, but this was bad. They weren't just harming themselves, they were harming us, and probably anyone else that may have heard him. I just don't understand how parents can raise their kids to not have morals and better judgement. Andy later told me that the girl would not stop talking about who all she had slept with. How horrible were the childhoods of these kids that they don't respect themselves? Why don't they have a sense of maturity at their young-adult age? Why did they think it was funny to sing about Satan? I have many questions, and many things I would have liked to say to those kids. But today's society says that it wasn't my place to lecture him..
What changed? I know when I was a kid, the neighbors or people at the grocery store weren't afraid to escort us by hair or ear back to our parent, and my parents would have been grateful to the stranger. I feel that we should have been allowed to do much more than ask the kid to stop "singing". I feel that we should have been able to get them kicked off the premises (if anything for being high and/or obscene), or call their parents. But if we had said anything, the employees probably would have said, "no, they can stay", and if we had some way gotten hold of their parents, we probably would have been the ones to get yelled at, not the kids. What has changed in the world to make parents so full of pride (regardless of what their child has done) to take any criticism from strangers? All that remains: harsh words, violence, and law-suits. It's best to just keep your mouth shut.. or is it? I feel like we shouldn't have been afraid to stand up for what and who we believe in, even though I know God would have had our back. :)
Andy was waiting for me to finish my play, just looking around at the nightlife. He turned to me and asked if I had seen the guy and girl that had just walked into the Starbucks. I had, the girl, mid teens, wearing really tight, short shorts, belly hanging out, and a really low cut, tight, spaghetti strap tank top. Need not mention her milk-jugs were popping out. She had to re-adjust the baggage about a dozen times while waiting for her venti green tea frappaccino with extra whip-cream. We were two games in when they came outside and sat at the table next to us. They immediately got out their cigarettes and started chain-smoking. (they couldn't have been older than 17) SO ATTRACTIVE!! They weren't especially annoying us for a good half hour or so (about five cigarettes down, plenty more to go), at least, not until they were joined by two of their obviously stoned friends. The four of them were sitting there talking, making jokes, and just enjoying each others company on a Saturday night. Cool, quality time is good. At least they weren't out drinking and driving..
The guitarist takes song requests and performs a lot covers. Stairway to Heaven was one of them. And this is the song that started it all. I know this song has a demonic correlation when accompanied with marijuana, but it's what this kid did and said that made me lose TOTAL respect for he and his friends. (as if the cigarettes and being high wasn't enough.) The loud mouth of the group started singing his own song. But this song only had one word. This word was Satan. It was driving Andy and I nuts, and got us really fumed. Andy turned around and told the kid to knock it off, its not funny, really disrespectful, and annoying. The kid's only response was, "oh I'm sorry, am I ruining your little card game?". The rest of our time there was spent being irritated, offended, and really on edge. I know I wasn't concentrating on the game, I was trying to keep myself in my chair and my mouth shut. Pretty sure the same went for Andy. We played one more game, packed up and went to the car.
I couldn't help but think for the rest of the evening how incredibly disrespectful some kids are. I know each generation has their own, but this was bad. They weren't just harming themselves, they were harming us, and probably anyone else that may have heard him. I just don't understand how parents can raise their kids to not have morals and better judgement. Andy later told me that the girl would not stop talking about who all she had slept with. How horrible were the childhoods of these kids that they don't respect themselves? Why don't they have a sense of maturity at their young-adult age? Why did they think it was funny to sing about Satan? I have many questions, and many things I would have liked to say to those kids. But today's society says that it wasn't my place to lecture him..
What changed? I know when I was a kid, the neighbors or people at the grocery store weren't afraid to escort us by hair or ear back to our parent, and my parents would have been grateful to the stranger. I feel that we should have been allowed to do much more than ask the kid to stop "singing". I feel that we should have been able to get them kicked off the premises (if anything for being high and/or obscene), or call their parents. But if we had said anything, the employees probably would have said, "no, they can stay", and if we had some way gotten hold of their parents, we probably would have been the ones to get yelled at, not the kids. What has changed in the world to make parents so full of pride (regardless of what their child has done) to take any criticism from strangers? All that remains: harsh words, violence, and law-suits. It's best to just keep your mouth shut.. or is it? I feel like we shouldn't have been afraid to stand up for what and who we believe in, even though I know God would have had our back. :)
posted by Andrew and Joanne at 7:12 PM
2 comments
