I do not have any kids. I Never had a real urge to make a contribution to the gene pool.
And for the most part I am glad that there are some folks out there doing it on my behalf…
to a point that is…
My wife and I were in McDonald’s at lunch for our one guilty pleasure; I enjoy an Angus Burger, a side of fries and some iced tea. We eat healthy all week long – so from time to time… we need to re-balance if you know what I mean. Too much of a good thing and all…
Anyway – sitting upstairs at the normally quiet Cedar Hill and Shelbourne location at noon today… something caught my attention.
It was the expression of my wife tuning into a conversation between grandpa and his seemingly well behaved grand-son… that caught my eye – And I tuned into it a millisecond later.
Grandpa was saying… and I quote: “If you do not stop your messing around, I am going to kick your ass!”
Apparently the small boy, according to what we could see, was being overly jovial and chatty being near the excitement of the kiddie playground on the main floor…
The 4 year old responded, “That is not a very nice thing to say Grandpa…”
Grandpa responded, “And it isn’t going to be a very nice thing to happen to you if you don’t smarten up!”
A Great-Granny was sitting with them and she kind of looked on, oblivious to the conversation between the grand-thug and the young boy…
This is 2009 – and I was astounded that I was hearing this violent exchange directed at a small child. And I was baffled as to how to respond…
saying to my wife… “Shall I go over there and KICK his ass?”
No. Probably not a good idea.
I was (we were) in fact, witnessing an event of child abuse unfolding and I was at a complete loss as to what to do about it. The conversation ended with the above exchange between the 2. The kid settled down a bit and the grand-thug settled into reading his paper.
But what of after… the later on for that 4 year old?
Sometimes violence is subtle – and one needs to be diligent to protect our young. In this particular case… well, I just don’t know.
Maybe the parents of this child will read this. Now that would be ironic.
One other thing: Moms and Dads… when you are out with your small children… Watch them! When we were coming into the McDonalds today, a young Mom and her Son and Daughter were with her. The boy was dawlding, kicking imaginary stones and counting the cracks in the sidewalk. He fell back about 20 feet as she went into the food outlet ahead of him and did not turn around until the door closed behind her.
He could have been grabbed in a heart beat by a clone of grand-thug above.
Anyway. Just a suggestion.