There's no hope for Mankind

[FJRocket]

So I get home and it's a beautiful 85 degree pleasant evening. I hop on the trusty steed and head for town. Light traffic, I'm loafing along, listening to my MP3, just enjoying life. Stop at the bank, make a deposit in the ATM. That's getting to be a regular excuse to take a short ride after work.

Wonderful evening, sky's blue, light clouds, boomers on the horizon are someone else's problem.

FJR is humming along through town, back out on the highway, cross the river bridge which puts me officially back in the sticks. NO one on the highway. Set the cruise. Ahhhhh life is good. Very good. :yahoo:

Pull into my subdivision, going very slowly, waving to the neighbors. Lots of very nice folks, friendly, industrious. Beautiful green lawns, manicured hedges, lots of color. Sweet.

Then I see her. So I slow WAY down. Cute, pink dress, dark hair. Pink bicycle, too. Hmmm, wonder if that was planned......

Getting closer. See her start to bob about a bit. Then suddenly, all over the road. Off the throttle.....Whoa!

I see her reach down, riding one handed, pull out her pink cell phone and she's talking on the phone. And all over the place on the road. Sheesh! <_<

Normally, this wouldn't really surprise me a whole lot, but what did surprise me was that her grip streamers were pink, as were her TRAINING WHEELS. Yep, this was my 5 year old neighbor kid, riding solo, badly, one handed on her Barbie stingray though the neighborhood, talking on her real pink cell phone. :angry:

There's no hope for us....

 

[boardsNbikes]

I really don't get cell phones. Why does a 5-year old need a cell phone? For christsake, I worked as an IT consultant for years and rarely paid over $20 in cell phone bills and I knew the world would continue to exist (and projects continue to progress) if I didn't have a cell phone.

 

[fjrchik]

Normally, this wouldn't really surprise me a whole lot, but what did surprise me was that her grip streamers were pink, as were her TRAINING WHEELS. Yep, this was my 5 year old neighbor kid, riding solo, badly, one handed on her Barbie stingray though the neighborhood, talking on her real pink cell phone.

OH!! how cute! I can just see her! not good that she's riding all over the street. i wouldn't allow that, but the rest - oh cute!!

 

[Groo]

Why does a 5-year old need a cell phone?

As a parent of three young girls, I can think of at least 2 reasons...

1) they make cell phones that will only dial 1 or 2 numbers (home and 911 for instance)

2) Certain cell phone services will allow parents to track the location of the phones.

Both of these (from my parental perspective) would make me consider getting a phone for my kids.

 

[Toecutter]

The Diva has one at 9 years old. It only has capacity for four numbers, but we can stay in touch. Not long ago Eve got tied up and was late picking her up at school, in the rain. The phone came onto the scene two days later. When she goes down the street to play with her friends, she takes a Motorola Walkabout. It's like having her on a leash. Ten bucks a month.

 

[fjrchik]

ya know guys...it's sucks but this day in age...ya gotta protect them. and that means keeping tabs on them every second. we have an amber alert almost every week here in tx. sad but true. if phones can help that, then absolutely.

 

[Groo]

ya know guys...it's sucks but this day in age...ya gotta protect them. and that means keeping tabs on them every second. we have an amber alert almost every week here in tx. sad but true. if phones can help that, then absolutely.

Tell me about it...Laura Kate Smither was abducted about 2-3 miles from our house here in Friendswood...

 

[Mike-H]

ya know guys...it's sucks but this day in age...ya gotta protect them. and that means keeping tabs on them every second. we have an amber alert almost every week here in tx. sad but true. if phones can help that, then absolutely.

Laura Kate Smither was abducted about 2-3 miles from our house here in Friendswood... tell me about it.

This is sad to say....but I fear for todays children....I really do....

 

[fjrchik]

at least there's a bright spot, the amber alert is allowing some of these kids to be recovered alive. just this week, a stepdad from mansfield took his kid. wasn't supposed to. they found him and now he's in jail.

 

[Mike-H]

at least there's a bright spot, the amber alert is allowing some of these kids to be recovered alive. just this week, a stepdad from mansfield took his kid. wasn't supposed to. they found him and now he's in jail.

& that's a bright spot?....take off your sunglasses fjrchik....that's still sad....

 

[fjrchik]

at least there's a bright spot, the amber alert is allowing some of these kids to be recovered alive. just this week, a stepdad from mansfield took his kid. wasn't supposed to. they found him and now he's in jail.

& that's a bright spot?....take off your sunglasses fjrchik....that's still sad....

hey the kidnapper gets whats comin... bright spot - kid is alive. no jacob wetterling...or worse.

 

[twowheelnut]

Man. Sad times, these are. My folks would kick our ***** out the door at 8 AM and we were simply told to 'be home in time for dinner'. Woods - hunting, river - fishing, downtown - being pests, the old nine hole course doing our best impersonations of Evil Knievel on our Sting Rays...

A parent would be tarred and feathered for that today...

 

[Groo]

Man. Sad times, these are. My folks would kick our ***** out the door at 8 AM and we were simply told to 'be home in time for dinner'. Woods - hunting, river - fishing, downtown - being pests, the old nine hole course doing our best impersonations of Evil Knievel on our Sting Rays...
A parent would be tarred and feathered for that today...

+1

 

[radman]

+2. If it's for protection, I'd rather give my kid a 1911. "Hey kid, I have some candy in my ca [SIZE=36pt]BOOOM!!![/SIZE]

 

[GalaxyBlue]

What is really sad, Is that there are way too many deranged people out there who prey on our little gifts from God...

And the laws wont do more than slap the hand of the offender :angry2: and get probation so they can continue their sick games :angry2:

This subject sits close to me since i "had" a friend who was the best guy in the world! Until i fould out that he sexually molested his daughter... :angry2:

I have no tolerance for this crap and think they all should DIE!!

No second chances....

Sorry, Should not have posted this.

 

[Groo]

Sorry, Should not have posted this.

Don't sweat it GB... I think most people have micro-sized leashes for sexual predators... personally I know that should anyone ever attempt to molest one of my daughters, they better hope the authorities get to them before I do. Word.

 

[FJRMGM]

^^^ to what Groo said on authorities getting to a molester before I do.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

What is really sad, Is that there are way too many deranged people out there who prey on our little gifts from God...And the laws wont do more than slap the hand of the offender :angry2: and get probation so they can continue their sick games :angry2:

This subject sits close to me since i "had" a friend who was the best guy in the world! Until i fould out that he sexually molested his daughter... :angry2:

I have no tolerance for this crap and think they all should DIE!!

No second chances....

Sorry, Should not have posted this.

Tell me about it. I have a 9 year old son and 10 year old daughter. They are of an age when they want to do things on their own, but the preditors are definitely out there. I do everything I can think of to protect them, but........

God help him if they hurt my babies, because I won't forgive. I'll do my time in jail.

Very scary. 'Nough said.

 

[FJRocket]

What actually "got" me was not the fact that she was alone, out on the street unsupervised. I just threw that in as a diversion. But I'm glad it sparked your interest, because that DID concern me.

What really hit me was... here is this FIVE year old girl, weaving all over the road, driving one handed with her cell phone to her ear (or she was looking at the screen, not the road). And I was thinking GREAT, this is what we have to look forward to. <_< I guess you had to be there. You had to see her. It was sort of surreal. This woman child all in pink, oblivious to her surroundings while whe was operating a vehicle on the phone. It was just one of those "epiphany" moments. <_< Not in a good way. Someone had trained her well. She probably learned by watching others. Mom or Pop, driving and planted to their phone. Sheesh, there's no hope for us! <_<

I'm the youngest of four sons. By the time my folks got to bringing me up, yes, everything was sort of loosey goosey. Amazing what kind of crap we got away with. My older brothers had to try a LOT harder than me, though, to get in to mischief and not get caught. Times were different then... or were they?