Welcome back true believers! For those of you that have been along for the ride since the beginning, you know that I am a grumpy old man. I view our children's generation as spoiled and disrespectful as a whole. As with any peer group, there are exceptions, but in general that is my view of them. Blame it on my age, blame it on my upbringing, blame it on the rain, hell...Blame it on Rio! But that is my view. Where did this come from, you might ask?
WalMart...as every good story starts...There I was....I was walking down the aisle and saw a small child, maybe 5 years old. He was throwing a box of some high sugar cereal, let's call it Cap'n Fruity Smacks, into his mom's cart. She politely told him that she already had cereal and he should put the other box back. He turned around and put the box BACK in the cart. She again, politely told little Johnny to return the box of cereal to the shelf. What did little Johnny do? He threw the box on the floor and then he threw himself on the floor. Did his mother beat his ass? Did she pick him up by the scruff of his neck? Nay Nay...she leaned down and said "get up Johnny, you are embarassing Mommy". I had an overwhelming urge to smack the mother.
What would have happened if you or I had pulled this little trick when we were kids? Would Mom have reasoned with us? Would she have spoken to us in a calm voice? Nay nay. She would have whipped our ass right there in the store. And when it was over, she would have dragged us out of the store and thrown us in the car. Would that be enough? Nay nay..then came the phrase that we all feared. "You just wait until your father gets home!" This one phrase instilled the fear of doG in all of us because we knew the end was near. The living in fear part made it worse than the actual punishment. You were stuck in your room dreading the moment that your father would return home from work. You knew that he had a long day at work and then he was coming home to deal with you, even though he didn't know it yet. You also knew that your ass was going to be red!
Today's children know not the fear of "Wait til your father gets home". They have been told by the television and their friends that parents can't lay a hand on them. I have been beaten with bare hand, wooden spoon, belt...you name it. I think I turned out okay. I respect my elders, I am grateful for all that I have. The only "time out" that I had ever heard of was during sporting events. Kids today are put in a corner for 2 minutes. Johnny recieved 4 time outs today. Does that mean that he has none left to use for the rest of the day? Nay nay..what that means to Johnny is that he had to stop being a little turd for 8 minutes out of his 18 hour day. There are no repercussions for actions any more. Standing in a corner while your brother continues to play PS3 is not going to correct the error. Whip that ass one good time and they will associate the inability to sit with the error of their ways. Let them live in fear of the disciplinarian of the family, whether that be mom or dad. Let them know that they messed up and it will not be tolerated. Stop being pansies about it! You know that it worked on you...you are all valuable members of society because your parents beat your ass when you messed up! By NOT spanking your children or some other form of punishment (take away computers, PS3s, TV, cell phones for some) you are doing them an injustice. You are allowing them to run you and your household. I am not saying that you should spank them in anger, I am saying teach them the way that you were taught. It has been proven effective.
Some of you will have strong feelings against this topic, I am sure. I welcome all comments, as always. For some of you, this may be the last stop on our ride together. Others may take your place at the next rest area. Still others will just consider this a pothole and they are stuck on the hump seat. Until next time... Stay Salty!
-Salty Dog
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Reality Shows Killed the Video Star..or Did They?
Okay, so this "copy and paste this to your status" status that is going around lately has me thinking. It is basically a question of what was your first concert. I answered this question today with Ratt, 1984, Mid Hudson Civic Center. Yes, people, I said RATT. Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini, Robbin Crosby, Juan Croucier, and Bobby Blotzer on drums. The Out of the Cellar tour, it was awesome. That was all I needed, and I was hooked on live music and seeing the bands. I have been to countless concerts since, but the concerts aren't what I am actually here to discuss.
Where are they now? The rock and rap heroes that we drew on our Trapper Keepers (for those youngsters reading...a Trapper Keeper was what we used to keep our school papers in back in the 80s). The ones whose shirts we wore to school the day after the concert (and for years to come). What happened? Is Steven Pearcy selling insurance now? Is Big Daddy Kane dishing out ice cream at Dairy Queen? Is Bobby Brown....well, we will leave Bobby Brown out of this one, he could have his own conversation. But the major players from our musical hay day...they have all gone in the crapper.
Vince Neil, the voice of Motley Crue. Shout at the Devil..come on people, that was hard rock in the 80s. Vince Neil was on the reality show "The Surreal Life". This show was a joke on the "talent". The group of people on the show were pretty much washed up stars from the 70s and 80s, being picked on BECAUSE they were washed up. When you are on a show with Charo, and it isn't the Love Boat, it is time to admit you are done.
MC Hammer, the man that made you stop because it was Hammer time. To this day, I don't know what Hammer time is. I don't know who was the bigger star, him or his pants. Some of you still have Hammer pants hiding in your closet or attic somewhere. You can lie to your friends, but you can't lie to yourself, they are there! Hammer was a multi millionaire who took over the world with Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Em. Now MC Hammer is where? Reality TV! First as a member of the Surreal Life, and then after seeing the success of Joseph Simmons (RUN's House) he starred in Hammertime. This show chronicled the life of the Hammer family, complete with Hammer recording a new album. This is one way to get people to buy your album I guess, force it down their throats while they watch your TV show. Anyway....
Big Daddy Kane. Aint No Half Steppin, I Get Raw, Warm It Up Kane...these were just a few of the mega hits from BDK. He was a hip hop GIANT in the 80s, mentioned in the same sentences as Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, and Eric B and Rakim. Where is Kane now? Is he a DJ on XM or Sirius? Is he a big shot at Def Jam records? Nay Nay...he is a judge in the 2010 Hip Hop Karaoke Championship. Not a reality show in Kane's repertoire, he is too cool for that....Hip Hop Karaoke Championship, I had to say it again because it didn't seem real the first time. (Bill, look into that one for me, we could win!)
Brett Michaels. Poison. My high school yearbook is full of quotes from him. All from a pussy ass ballad, Every Rose Has Its Thorn. But their first album "Look What The Cat Dragged In" was bad ass, and spawned many hits. Is there another Poison reunion in the plans? Is CiCi DeVille even alive still? All of you girls that remember drooling over Brett Michaels...he is on the second season of his reality show Rock of Love. The guy can't even find himself a girlfriend, he has to go the Flavor Flav route...yes, another reality show.
Sebastian Bach. Skid Row people...SKID ROW! Sebastian is so full of himself, he named his only daughter Sebastiana. Is that even a real name??? Has Sebastian gone the reality route? He has indeed. Is he looking for a girlfriend like Brett? Nay nay. Is he pushing a new album while he exploits his family, like Hammer? Nay nay. Is he labeled as a washed up has been like Vince Neil? Again, I say nay. So what reality show did Seb get himself on? Celebrity Fit Club. Sebastian went and got fat and wants to go on television and show the world that he is going to get back to fighting weight and bring back the band!! Oh, did I mention that all possible metal street cred was flushed down the city sewers with the violent power of one of those turds that you have to wipe your legs afterward? Yes true believers...Sebastian Bach starred on Broadway in Jekyll and Hyde. It isn't so bad that he was on Broadway. What is bad is that he was replaced by David Hasselhoff. That's right people, Knight Rider was singing on Broadway too, not just in Germany.
What I am trying to say here (because I know you are asking yourself WTF) is how the mighty have fallen. No...I was just thinking about all the concerts I went to when I was young and realizing that all those guys are doing reality shows now. There are a few that are still around doing what they did back then, but most have gone the "I'll take any chance I can get to get my name out there again" route. Well, it obviously worked, I am sitting here talking about them, and you are reading it. Good job heroes of my past, mission accomplished. Oh, and one word for Sebastian Bach... Hasselhoff????? Until next time true believers...Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
Where are they now? The rock and rap heroes that we drew on our Trapper Keepers (for those youngsters reading...a Trapper Keeper was what we used to keep our school papers in back in the 80s). The ones whose shirts we wore to school the day after the concert (and for years to come). What happened? Is Steven Pearcy selling insurance now? Is Big Daddy Kane dishing out ice cream at Dairy Queen? Is Bobby Brown....well, we will leave Bobby Brown out of this one, he could have his own conversation. But the major players from our musical hay day...they have all gone in the crapper.
Vince Neil, the voice of Motley Crue. Shout at the Devil..come on people, that was hard rock in the 80s. Vince Neil was on the reality show "The Surreal Life". This show was a joke on the "talent". The group of people on the show were pretty much washed up stars from the 70s and 80s, being picked on BECAUSE they were washed up. When you are on a show with Charo, and it isn't the Love Boat, it is time to admit you are done.
MC Hammer, the man that made you stop because it was Hammer time. To this day, I don't know what Hammer time is. I don't know who was the bigger star, him or his pants. Some of you still have Hammer pants hiding in your closet or attic somewhere. You can lie to your friends, but you can't lie to yourself, they are there! Hammer was a multi millionaire who took over the world with Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Em. Now MC Hammer is where? Reality TV! First as a member of the Surreal Life, and then after seeing the success of Joseph Simmons (RUN's House) he starred in Hammertime. This show chronicled the life of the Hammer family, complete with Hammer recording a new album. This is one way to get people to buy your album I guess, force it down their throats while they watch your TV show. Anyway....
Big Daddy Kane. Aint No Half Steppin, I Get Raw, Warm It Up Kane...these were just a few of the mega hits from BDK. He was a hip hop GIANT in the 80s, mentioned in the same sentences as Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, and Eric B and Rakim. Where is Kane now? Is he a DJ on XM or Sirius? Is he a big shot at Def Jam records? Nay Nay...he is a judge in the 2010 Hip Hop Karaoke Championship. Not a reality show in Kane's repertoire, he is too cool for that....Hip Hop Karaoke Championship, I had to say it again because it didn't seem real the first time. (Bill, look into that one for me, we could win!)
Brett Michaels. Poison. My high school yearbook is full of quotes from him. All from a pussy ass ballad, Every Rose Has Its Thorn. But their first album "Look What The Cat Dragged In" was bad ass, and spawned many hits. Is there another Poison reunion in the plans? Is CiCi DeVille even alive still? All of you girls that remember drooling over Brett Michaels...he is on the second season of his reality show Rock of Love. The guy can't even find himself a girlfriend, he has to go the Flavor Flav route...yes, another reality show.
Sebastian Bach. Skid Row people...SKID ROW! Sebastian is so full of himself, he named his only daughter Sebastiana. Is that even a real name??? Has Sebastian gone the reality route? He has indeed. Is he looking for a girlfriend like Brett? Nay nay. Is he pushing a new album while he exploits his family, like Hammer? Nay nay. Is he labeled as a washed up has been like Vince Neil? Again, I say nay. So what reality show did Seb get himself on? Celebrity Fit Club. Sebastian went and got fat and wants to go on television and show the world that he is going to get back to fighting weight and bring back the band!! Oh, did I mention that all possible metal street cred was flushed down the city sewers with the violent power of one of those turds that you have to wipe your legs afterward? Yes true believers...Sebastian Bach starred on Broadway in Jekyll and Hyde. It isn't so bad that he was on Broadway. What is bad is that he was replaced by David Hasselhoff. That's right people, Knight Rider was singing on Broadway too, not just in Germany.
What I am trying to say here (because I know you are asking yourself WTF) is how the mighty have fallen. No...I was just thinking about all the concerts I went to when I was young and realizing that all those guys are doing reality shows now. There are a few that are still around doing what they did back then, but most have gone the "I'll take any chance I can get to get my name out there again" route. Well, it obviously worked, I am sitting here talking about them, and you are reading it. Good job heroes of my past, mission accomplished. Oh, and one word for Sebastian Bach... Hasselhoff????? Until next time true believers...Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Ouch!
Welcome aboard true believers! Some of you have been wondering where my B-Log and I have been. I have responded to a couple people by saying that nothing has irritated me, upset me, made me laugh, made me cry, or otherwise inspired me to write. I believe I have found a topic that speaks to all of us, and needs to be spoken about!
Many of you, if not all of you, know that I have had multiple surgeries on my right knee. The first time that it was injured was because I was being a nice guy. Helping a little old lady change her tire....but that is another story. The thing is, it was a legitimate injury... a car fell on my knee. My leg is not the most stable these days, but again..not the point. I was walking down my steps last week...or the week before... I don't know, my short term memory is shot. Ask me about something that happened 20 years ago and I remember like it was yesterday. Ask me about yesterday and it may as well has been 20 years ago. ANYWAY...I was walking down my steps (all three of them) and all of a sudden..POP! My leg buckles underneath me. That is not the worst part about it...the feeling of my thigh bone sliding forward, grinding across my shin bone, and ripping my anterior cruciate ligament in the process...hence the POP!
Is this a blog about me and my woes? Nay nay. This is about us getting old and getting injuries for no good reason. Walking down three steps should not tear ligaments in your knee. Phantom bruises...I know there are some of you out there that look down at a bruise on your arm or leg and wonder, "how the hell did that get there?" Have you ever woken up from a long night's sleep and had muscles in your arms and shoulder hurt like you just bowled in a 100 game tournament? You wonder to yourself, "when did I go bowling?" as you rub your shoulder. These are things that happen as we get older.
Remember when we were younger and we could stay up all night drinking, get 45 minutes of sleep and then go operate heavy machinery? No problems! We could pull out a knife and stab ourselves 17 times...and just sit there and watch it heal! These days are gone for us. Now we worry about sleeping wrong ( a term I have never understood). This causes us to buy Craftmatic adjustable beds. There is probably a newer trend in bedding, but as I said..no short term memory. 20 years ago? I gotcha! I wake up, go to work, coach baseball, and come home. I am not an extreme sports guy, I don't run....well I will leave it there, I don't run. Well, not unless someone is chasing me and I know that I can't take them....anyway. What is it with us that around age 28 our bodies start to die on us? Phantom bruising, sore muscles for no reason at all, loss of memory. I should not roll out of bed in the morning and immediately say "Ouch!".
There was no ranting necessary on this entry, just a sharing of pain. Who's with me people? It is time to revolt against our bodies! I think it is all of this "healthy living" style stuff that is killing us. No more organic anything. No more fad diets. No more gym memberships. I say that the only way to defeat this is to eat Fruity Pebbles or Cap'n Crunch for breakfast, Fluff for lunch, and pizza for dinner. All meals should be accompanied by some sort of carbonated malt beverage. Let's eat like we did when we were indestructible and see if that is the problem. Until next time, my friends..stay Salty!
-Salty Dog
Many of you, if not all of you, know that I have had multiple surgeries on my right knee. The first time that it was injured was because I was being a nice guy. Helping a little old lady change her tire....but that is another story. The thing is, it was a legitimate injury... a car fell on my knee. My leg is not the most stable these days, but again..not the point. I was walking down my steps last week...or the week before... I don't know, my short term memory is shot. Ask me about something that happened 20 years ago and I remember like it was yesterday. Ask me about yesterday and it may as well has been 20 years ago. ANYWAY...I was walking down my steps (all three of them) and all of a sudden..POP! My leg buckles underneath me. That is not the worst part about it...the feeling of my thigh bone sliding forward, grinding across my shin bone, and ripping my anterior cruciate ligament in the process...hence the POP!
Is this a blog about me and my woes? Nay nay. This is about us getting old and getting injuries for no good reason. Walking down three steps should not tear ligaments in your knee. Phantom bruises...I know there are some of you out there that look down at a bruise on your arm or leg and wonder, "how the hell did that get there?" Have you ever woken up from a long night's sleep and had muscles in your arms and shoulder hurt like you just bowled in a 100 game tournament? You wonder to yourself, "when did I go bowling?" as you rub your shoulder. These are things that happen as we get older.
Remember when we were younger and we could stay up all night drinking, get 45 minutes of sleep and then go operate heavy machinery? No problems! We could pull out a knife and stab ourselves 17 times...and just sit there and watch it heal! These days are gone for us. Now we worry about sleeping wrong ( a term I have never understood). This causes us to buy Craftmatic adjustable beds. There is probably a newer trend in bedding, but as I said..no short term memory. 20 years ago? I gotcha! I wake up, go to work, coach baseball, and come home. I am not an extreme sports guy, I don't run....well I will leave it there, I don't run. Well, not unless someone is chasing me and I know that I can't take them....anyway. What is it with us that around age 28 our bodies start to die on us? Phantom bruising, sore muscles for no reason at all, loss of memory. I should not roll out of bed in the morning and immediately say "Ouch!".
There was no ranting necessary on this entry, just a sharing of pain. Who's with me people? It is time to revolt against our bodies! I think it is all of this "healthy living" style stuff that is killing us. No more organic anything. No more fad diets. No more gym memberships. I say that the only way to defeat this is to eat Fruity Pebbles or Cap'n Crunch for breakfast, Fluff for lunch, and pizza for dinner. All meals should be accompanied by some sort of carbonated malt beverage. Let's eat like we did when we were indestructible and see if that is the problem. Until next time, my friends..stay Salty!
-Salty Dog
Thursday, March 4, 2010
I Have Found The Weapons of Mass Destruction...
Welcome aboard true believers! I was trolling through the interweb on my google machine, and came across some interesting "news" articles. The advantage to just scrolling through news with no agenda is the gems that you find that would normally be passed over. As my journey took me from the New York Times to the Bristol Herald Courier, I saw many stories that most of you see on the evening news. What I did find, that those of you watching television outside of Bristol, VA will not, was the story that inspired today's blog entry.
So there I was...is this not the way every good story starts? Scouring the news stories for something interesting to read, I came across this little gem entitled "Blame the victim: Religious leaflet claims ‘ungodly’ dressed women provoke rape" I will let that simmer for a second before I continue....... okay, everyone ready to continue? Nineteen-year-old Keshia Canter handed three burgers, fries and milkshakes to a car-load of Tuesday afternoon customers at the Hi-Lo Burger’s drive-though window. A lady sitting in the backseat leaned forward, between the two men in front, and handed her a leaflet that said, “Women & Girls” across the top.
“Even though nothing is showing, you’re being ungodly,” the woman told her. “You make men want to be sinful.” “You may have been given this leaflet because of the way you are dressed,” it begins. “Have you thought about standing before the true and living God to be judged?” What do you say to that? You are 19 years old, working the drive-through, and some religious nut job hands you this crap. Do you reply, "Thanks, would you like ketchup with that?"
As the story goes on, this same pamphlet states that rape victims are usually not "victims" at all, but the perpetrators! The theory here is that most rape victims would not have been raped had they not dressed the way they did. The religious nut job view is that the women forced the men to rape them because of their clothing. Who are these people? Women are making men rape...not only is this an insane statement on its own merit, but to think that a man would be so weak that a halter top and a mini skirt would cause him to commit a felony. This would mean that every waitress at Hooters was asking to be raped, and every customer was an unsuspecting rapist!
This story is one of many brought to you by the letter S, the number 3, and the religious whack jobs. I am not saying that all religion is bad. I am of the theory, "as long as you have something to believe in, good for you." It is the hardcore religious right that brings forth the lunatics. The ones that read the bible and twist it so badly that even the pope couldn't tell the difference between a verse from it and a verse from Come on Eileen by Dexi's Midnight Runners. Don't judge me, that was an awesome song! The majority of you will be singing it for the rest of the night, and for that you are welcome. But, as I titled this blog.. I have found the weapons of mass destruction....religion. Consult your history children, more blood has been spilled in the name of a god, than in every Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movie combined. Now that is a lot of blood, just ask Tom Savini and Kevin Yager. Okay kiddies, I guess that is all I have to say for now. Wouldn't want to offend the religious head cases that are too conservative and close minded to have an intelligent debate with me anyway. So, until next time...Stay Salty!
-Salty Dog
So there I was...is this not the way every good story starts? Scouring the news stories for something interesting to read, I came across this little gem entitled "Blame the victim: Religious leaflet claims ‘ungodly’ dressed women provoke rape" I will let that simmer for a second before I continue....... okay, everyone ready to continue? Nineteen-year-old Keshia Canter handed three burgers, fries and milkshakes to a car-load of Tuesday afternoon customers at the Hi-Lo Burger’s drive-though window. A lady sitting in the backseat leaned forward, between the two men in front, and handed her a leaflet that said, “Women & Girls” across the top.
“Even though nothing is showing, you’re being ungodly,” the woman told her. “You make men want to be sinful.” “You may have been given this leaflet because of the way you are dressed,” it begins. “Have you thought about standing before the true and living God to be judged?” What do you say to that? You are 19 years old, working the drive-through, and some religious nut job hands you this crap. Do you reply, "Thanks, would you like ketchup with that?"
As the story goes on, this same pamphlet states that rape victims are usually not "victims" at all, but the perpetrators! The theory here is that most rape victims would not have been raped had they not dressed the way they did. The religious nut job view is that the women forced the men to rape them because of their clothing. Who are these people? Women are making men rape...not only is this an insane statement on its own merit, but to think that a man would be so weak that a halter top and a mini skirt would cause him to commit a felony. This would mean that every waitress at Hooters was asking to be raped, and every customer was an unsuspecting rapist!
This story is one of many brought to you by the letter S, the number 3, and the religious whack jobs. I am not saying that all religion is bad. I am of the theory, "as long as you have something to believe in, good for you." It is the hardcore religious right that brings forth the lunatics. The ones that read the bible and twist it so badly that even the pope couldn't tell the difference between a verse from it and a verse from Come on Eileen by Dexi's Midnight Runners. Don't judge me, that was an awesome song! The majority of you will be singing it for the rest of the night, and for that you are welcome. But, as I titled this blog.. I have found the weapons of mass destruction....religion. Consult your history children, more blood has been spilled in the name of a god, than in every Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movie combined. Now that is a lot of blood, just ask Tom Savini and Kevin Yager. Okay kiddies, I guess that is all I have to say for now. Wouldn't want to offend the religious head cases that are too conservative and close minded to have an intelligent debate with me anyway. So, until next time...Stay Salty!
-Salty Dog
Monday, March 1, 2010
Some People's Kids
Alright true believers, let's get this train back on its tracks! Most of you are around the same age as I am, so you will understand where I am coming from. Today's topic is about kids. Most, if not all of us have them. All of us were them. What do I have to say about them is the question.
Long ago and far away, when the majority of us were still children, we didn't have computers. Most households didn't have video game systems. We had bikes, we had baseball gloves, we had footballs, we had each other. My mother would tell my sister and I to go outside and play. There were no amplifying instructions, just go...play. The neighborhood kids would get together at someone's house, or at the elementary school, or in a field and we would just play. We would play freeze tag, climb trees, ride bikes, play frisbee, or throw a baseball. We didn't need directions, we just played. As long as we were home when our mothers told us to be, all was well. I understand that times are different and kids can't just be left to roam the neighborhoods anymore like we once did. The adults of today cannot be trusted. But that isn't the point here.
The kids of today take being told to go outside like it is some form of punishment. I tell my boys to go outside and play because it is 70 degrees and sunny in February, and they ask me why they have to go out. You would think that I had just told them that they were being dropped into the coliseum to face the lions. They would be content to sit inside all day, every day, with their PS3 or Wii, or computer, or hand held gaming system. They treat the outside like it is some sort of evil troll that they need to hide from. Don't get me wrong, I love video games as much, if not more than the next guy. I also love being out on a baseball diamond in May, or out fishing on a lake in June. I would rather be coaching or playing some kind of sport than be cooped up in the house staring at a television screen.
We grew up in simpler times than our children. Technology has made them soft. Kids of today are slaves to technology, and while I do believe that it makes them smarter knowing how to use a computer, I also believe that it makes them slightly anti social. I believe that video games increase their hand-eye coordination, but takes away their drive to play team sports that would benefit from this increased coordination.
Pushing 90 degrees in the Summer time..why don't you guys go outside? "It's too hot". 50 degrees in January, why don't you guys go outside? "It's too cold". I feel like I am trapped in a strange version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears! I remember being told to go outside and not to come back in until it was dinner time. I would spend 10 hours outside each day on my summer vacation. These were days when I had no plans. No baseball games, no pool parties, just your average day. I would round up the kids in the neighborhood who were also sent outside for the day and we would just play. What has changed so drastically over the years to make a Summer day too hot and a Winter day too cold?
How can I become a grumpy old man who yells, "you kids get off of my lawn" if the kids aren't even outside to yell at? How can I yell out my door, "Dinner time!" to my kids when they are locked away in their rooms? It is sad to think that I can send my children instant messages to tell them it is time for dinner rather than yell out in the back yard. I have always worried that the day would come when the swingset in the back yard would be empty because the kids had grown up and moved out. I did not think that day would come when my boys were 10 and 6, and it was empty because they were playing on their computers instead of on the swingset. It isn't just my kids though, I drive through a neighborhood that I know is full of kids, yet I don't see any. It is scary to know that Generation X has spawned Generation Xbox. Alright, I guess that is all I have to say for now. Until next time, my fine feathered friends....Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
Long ago and far away, when the majority of us were still children, we didn't have computers. Most households didn't have video game systems. We had bikes, we had baseball gloves, we had footballs, we had each other. My mother would tell my sister and I to go outside and play. There were no amplifying instructions, just go...play. The neighborhood kids would get together at someone's house, or at the elementary school, or in a field and we would just play. We would play freeze tag, climb trees, ride bikes, play frisbee, or throw a baseball. We didn't need directions, we just played. As long as we were home when our mothers told us to be, all was well. I understand that times are different and kids can't just be left to roam the neighborhoods anymore like we once did. The adults of today cannot be trusted. But that isn't the point here.
The kids of today take being told to go outside like it is some form of punishment. I tell my boys to go outside and play because it is 70 degrees and sunny in February, and they ask me why they have to go out. You would think that I had just told them that they were being dropped into the coliseum to face the lions. They would be content to sit inside all day, every day, with their PS3 or Wii, or computer, or hand held gaming system. They treat the outside like it is some sort of evil troll that they need to hide from. Don't get me wrong, I love video games as much, if not more than the next guy. I also love being out on a baseball diamond in May, or out fishing on a lake in June. I would rather be coaching or playing some kind of sport than be cooped up in the house staring at a television screen.
We grew up in simpler times than our children. Technology has made them soft. Kids of today are slaves to technology, and while I do believe that it makes them smarter knowing how to use a computer, I also believe that it makes them slightly anti social. I believe that video games increase their hand-eye coordination, but takes away their drive to play team sports that would benefit from this increased coordination.
Pushing 90 degrees in the Summer time..why don't you guys go outside? "It's too hot". 50 degrees in January, why don't you guys go outside? "It's too cold". I feel like I am trapped in a strange version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears! I remember being told to go outside and not to come back in until it was dinner time. I would spend 10 hours outside each day on my summer vacation. These were days when I had no plans. No baseball games, no pool parties, just your average day. I would round up the kids in the neighborhood who were also sent outside for the day and we would just play. What has changed so drastically over the years to make a Summer day too hot and a Winter day too cold?
How can I become a grumpy old man who yells, "you kids get off of my lawn" if the kids aren't even outside to yell at? How can I yell out my door, "Dinner time!" to my kids when they are locked away in their rooms? It is sad to think that I can send my children instant messages to tell them it is time for dinner rather than yell out in the back yard. I have always worried that the day would come when the swingset in the back yard would be empty because the kids had grown up and moved out. I did not think that day would come when my boys were 10 and 6, and it was empty because they were playing on their computers instead of on the swingset. It isn't just my kids though, I drive through a neighborhood that I know is full of kids, yet I don't see any. It is scary to know that Generation X has spawned Generation Xbox. Alright, I guess that is all I have to say for now. Until next time, my fine feathered friends....Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
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